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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1558625
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Frontiers: Astroparticle, Space Science and Public Health for Future Crewed Space MissionsView all 8 articles
Evolutionary medicine and bioastronautics: An innovative approach in addressing adverse mental health effects to astronauts during long term space missions
Provisionally accepted- 1Cihan University-Erbil, Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Applied Sciences, Erbil, Iraq
- 2Bachelor of Doctor Assistance Department, DDT College of Medicine, Gaborone, Botswana
- 3School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- 4Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 5Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Science, Knowledge University, Erbil, Iraq
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Although , evolutionary medicine has produced several novel insights for explaining prevalent health issues, it has yet to sufficiently address possible adverse mental health effects of humans during longterm space missions (LTSM). While evolutionary applications to medicine have increased over the past twenty years, there is scope for the integration of evolutionary applications in the new branch of space medicine called bioastronautics, which analyses the effects on human bodies when in outer space. Evolutionary principles may explain what kinds of space environments increase mental health risks to astronauts, both in the short and long term; secondly, evolutionary principles may provide a more informed understanding of the evolutionary mismatch between terrestrial and space environments in which astronauts transitexist. This information may assist in developing frameworks for improving human mental health for of astronauts and future space colonists. Consequently, this paper will focus on some of the major evolutionary mismatches currently confronting astronauts' mental health, with an aim to improve medical knowledge. It will also provide possible therapeutic countermeasures based on evolutionary principles for reducing adverse mental effects toon astronauts.
Keywords: evolutionary mismatch, stress, enteric gut microbiome, circadian disruption, "Earth-out-of-view-phenomenon", reduced natural selection, Heraclitean motion, Consciousness
Received: 19 Jan 2025; Accepted: 08 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Saniotis, Henneberg and Mohammadi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Arthur Saniotis, Cihan University-Erbil, Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Applied Sciences, Erbil, Iraq
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