Berry Charles A, Hoffler G Wyckliffe, Jernigan Clarence A, Kerwin Joseph P, Mohler Stanley R
Aerospace Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 2009 Apr;80(4):345-52. doi: 10.3357/asem.2463.2009.
Almost nothing was known about the effects of spaceflight on human physiology when, in May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth within the decade. There were more questions than answers regarding the effects of acceleration, vibration, cabin pressure, CO2 concentration, and microgravity. There were known external threats to life, such as solar and ultraviolet radiation, meteorites, and extreme temperatures as well as issues for which the physicians and scientists could not even formulate the questions. And there was no time for controlled experiments with the required numbers of animal or human subjects. Of necessity, risks were evaluated and mitigated or accepted based on minimal data. This article summarizes presentations originally given as a panel at the 79th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association in Boston in 2008. In it, five pioneers in space medicine at NASA looked back on the development of their field. The authors related personal anecdotes, discussed the roles of various people and presented examples of contributions to emerging U.S. initiatives for human spaceflight. Topics included the development of quarantine facilities for returning Apollo astronauts, the struggles between operational medicine and research personnel, and observations from the first U.S. medical officer to experience weightlessness on orbit. Brief biographies of the authors are appended to document their participation in these historic events.
1961年5月，约翰·F·肯尼迪总统承诺美国要在十年内将人类送上月球并使其安全返回地球时，人们对太空飞行对人体生理的影响几乎一无所知。关于加速度、振动、座舱压力、二氧化碳浓度和微重力的影响，问题比答案还多。存在已知的生命外部威胁，如太阳和紫外线辐射、陨石和极端温度，还有一些问题连医生和科学家都无法提出。而且没有时间对所需数量的动物或人类受试者进行对照实验。必要时，只能根据极少的数据评估和减轻或接受风险。本文总结了最初在2008年于波士顿举行的航空航天医学协会第79届年度科学会议上作为一个小组发言的内容。在文中，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的五位太空医学先驱回顾了他们领域的发展。作者讲述了个人轶事，讨论了各类人员的角色，并列举了对美国新兴载人航天计划做出贡献的例子。主题包括为返回的阿波罗宇航员开发隔离设施、作战医学人员与研究人员之间的斗争，以及第一位在轨道上体验失重的美国医务人员的观察结果。附录中附有作者的简要传记，以记录他们参与这些历史事件的情况。
