space medicine: A Closed Environment

In the closed environment of the spacecraft care must be taken to prevent the buildup of toxic material to dangerous levels; this is accomplished by recycling waste material. The nature of the artificial atmosphere astronauts breathe is an important biomedical consideration. Ideally, this atmosphere would be identical in composition and pressure to the earth's atmosphere. Any alteration involves the risk of decompression sickness. The space shuttle used a pure oxygen atmosphere or a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• A Closed Environment
• Absence of Day and Night
• Ionizing Radiation
• Inertial Forces
• Weightlessness
• Bibliography

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