Published online before print August 18, 2009

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(Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2009;86:1027-1038.)
© 2009 Society for Leukocyte Biology

Could spaceflight-associated immune system weakening preclude the expansion of human presence beyond Earth’s orbit?

Nathan Guéguinou^*,, Cécile Huin-Schohn^*,, Matthieu Bascove^*, Jean-Luc Bueb, Eric Tschirhart, Christine Legrand-Frossi^* and Jean-Pol Frippiat^*,1

^* Nancy-University, Development and Immunogenetics Team, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy JE 2537, France; and
University of Luxembourg, Life Sciences Research Unit, Luxembourg

1. Correspondence: Development and Immunogenetics Team, JE 2537, 9 Avenue de la Forêt de Hage, Faculté de Médecine, 5400 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France. E-mail: jean-pol.frippiat{at}scbiol.uhp-nancy.fr

ABSTRACT

This year, we celebrate the 40th birthday of the first landing of humans on the moon. By 2020, astronauts should return to the lunar surface and establish an outpost there that will provide a technical basis for future manned missions to Mars. This paper summarizes major constraints associated with a trip to Mars, presents immunological hazards associated with this type of mission, and shows that our current understanding of the immunosuppressive effects of spaceflight is limited. Weakening of the immune system associated with spaceflight is therefore an area that should be considered more thoroughly before we undertake prolonged space voyages.

Key Words: microgravity • deep-space mission • immune depression • stress

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