Episode 32

Does space affect male and female astronauts differently?

Man or woman, space is a tough place to live.

It’s long been known that going to space can have negative effects on the health of astronauts. Space is a harsh environment with too much radiation and too little gravity. There are cardiovascular implications, vision problems abound, and future reproductive issues are a particular concern. A major area of research for space agencies is meticulously checking up on the health of people who have left the Earth, especially since it’s such a small group of people. Due to historical barriers, it’s even smaller when considering only female astronauts - though that number is growing. So what differences have been observed between the male and female astronauts studied? Do they suffer from the same complications, or are the effects particular to sex? On this episode, James dives into a collection of studies highlighting the ways men’s and women’s physiologies react to the final frontier.

Check out the research in the Journal of Women’s Health here and the NASA article and infographic here.

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