EDITORIAL INFORMATION

The seed of this long-awaited volume were sown in 1971 with the first meeting of the Joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Working Group on Space Biology and Medicine. This Group provided a forum in which specialists in various aspects of biological and medical sciences, including the authors of this book, could meet and exchange information and plans for spaceflight studies. Despite the shadow of the Cold War that predominated in those days, scientists from both countries came to the clear realization that working together was the best way to accomplish the difficult and criticaly important tasks of ensuring the reliability and safety of spaceflight.

Since the first launch of a human being into space in 1961, flight durations have been extended, supporting technologies have become vastly more sophisticated, and the numbers of variables that can be studied, both in Earth-based laboratories and in flight, have grown exponentially. The authors' approaches to studying fluid and electrolyte regulation in weightlessness have evolved in parallel with the evolution of human space exploration. Their meticolous tests of hypotheses, their mastery of experimental methods, and their pursuit of deeper theoretical mechanisms all underscore the importance of the scientific exchanges that took place between the two countries. The clear benefits provided by mutual understanding of each country's studies and findings are apparent in this book.

At its heart, this book provides detailed, well-argued answers to several fundamental questions in physiology that have been raised during the course of human space exploration. Particular attention is paid to potential differences between reactions-and their regulatory mechanisms-in space vs. those on Earth, and the possible consequences of those differences. Analyses of vast amounts of research material are presented, from studies conducted aboard short missions (the Voskhod, Soyuz, and Space Shuttle programs) and long missions (the Skylab, Salyut, and Mir programs). Also discussed are results from biological experiments conducted in weightlessness simulations and aboard the Kosmos biosatellite series, and the development of preventive measures designed to maintain physiological homeostasis in space.

(Extracted from the Preface)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Foreword. Arnold E. Nicogossian.

-Preface. Charles A. Berry; Oleg G. Gazenko.

-Introduction.

-Chapter 1: Physiological Effects.

-Chapter 2: Short Flights.

-Chapter 3: Long Flights.

-Chapter 4: Spaceflight Simulations.

-Chapter 5: Animal Experiments: The Kosmos Biosatellites.

-Chapter 6: Countermeasures.

-Conclusions.

-Appendices.

-Appendix A: Summary of Human Spaceflight Experience.
-Appendix B: Publications of the American Astronautical Society.