About Surgery in Spaceflight

Medical care of spacefarers on long-term missions to Mars and beyond

No human being has ever travelled outside the Earth-Moon complex. Since return to Earth was always possible within a few hours or days, there was no need to develop in-flight surgical capabilities to an operational level. Payload and crew time are valuable, and space surgery had no priority. With long-term missions approaching, there is a growing need for advanced medical capabilities and surgical solutions during spaceflight.

The Space Surgery group has formed to approach future surgical needs in spaceflight from an interdisciplinary perspective, fostering international collaboration. Not only surgical technology and procedures, but also wound healing, anaethesiology, pain treatment and further relevant topics are addressed by the group. This website serves to collect current knowledge and connect specialists to initiate collaborations in the field.