ISRO, AIIMS sign MoU for cooperation in space medicine and research

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to strengthen cooperation in space medicine and research.

The agreement aims to promote joint scientific research aligned with ISRO’s priority areas, with the objective of improving human health, performance, and safety during human space missions.

Focus of the Collaboration

According to ISRO, long-duration human space missions—such as the proposed Bharatiya Antariksh Station and future crewed missions to the Moon—present unique medical and physiological challenges due to the extreme space environment and microgravity conditions.

Through this collaboration, ISRO and AIIMS plan to:

• Advance research in space medicine
• Promote interdisciplinary scientific studies
• Build long-term institutional cooperation
• Support India’s human spaceflight programme

The partnership is also expected to encourage innovation and create new research opportunities for scientists and medical experts in India.

Challenges of the Space Environment

Space presents extreme conditions that significantly affect human health and spacecraft systems.

Extreme Space Environment:
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), temperatures in space can range from hundreds of degrees below freezing to several hundred degrees above, especially when spacecraft move close to the Sun. Although space has no atmosphere, energy from solar radiation can heat spacecraft and celestial bodies when absorbed.

Microgravity:
As explained by NASA, microgravity refers to the condition in which objects appear almost weightless because gravity is extremely weak or its effects are greatly reduced.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station float because the station and everything inside it are in continuous free fall around Earth. The ISS orbits at an altitude of about 200–250 miles, where Earth’s gravity is still about 90% as strong as on the surface. However, because the spacecraft and astronauts fall at the same rate, they experience weightlessness, giving the impression of “zero gravity.”

Source: TH