What Does Space Do To Your Immune System?

Space





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Scott Kelly injecting himself with the flu vaccine while on the ISS. NASA

In the absence of hospitals and doctors, crew members traveling to the International Space Station have to be incredibly careful about the potential of introducing infectious agents. It is for this reason that before any astronaut blasts off, they have to spend two weeks in quarantine with no exposure to the outside world. When we travel further afield and into deeper space, it will therefore be vital to understand how the body may respond to infection in such environments.