Challenges in Providing Medical Support on an International Human Expedition to Mars: An Overview

Abstract

Human expedition to Mars is a mission with untold risks and rewards. Of all the planets, Mars could conceivably be inhabited by humans in the later part of the 21st century. The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) assembled a diverse, international group of subject matter experts to evaluate a task. This group, SG-2.14, concentrated its efforts on the Medical Support for an International Human Expedition to Mars. This is a summary of a report entitled ‘Challenges in Medical Support for an International Human Expedition to Mars’. This report summarizes the current and potential future challenges and opportunities that we will face on any expedition and eventual settlement on the Martian surface. It highlights the findings and assertions of the final report to the IAA.