Bone Loss During Spaceflight: Etiology, Countermeasures, and Implications for Bone Health on Earth

Astronauts on long-duration missions are currently losing up to 10 times more bone mass in key regions of the body than do postmenopausal women on Earth in the same period of time. In this book, a group of internationally recognized experts review the evidence for the causes of these musculoskeletal changes and offer a range of potential countermeasures. As NASA plans for future missions to the moon and Mars, this book serves as a roadmap for the research that will be required to maintain bone health during and after these missions. The relevance of the bone loss in space to bone health on Earth is also discussed.