Health in space: crucial for Saudi Arabia's journey beyond Earth

Arab News

2 days ago

We are now closer to the vastness of space than ever before. More nations are expressing interest and participating in space activities. Additionally, more astronauts are venturing into space, with exploration no longer limited to select countries but opening up to many nations and even individuals.
Public-private partnerships are transforming the space sector, with companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic offering opportunities for private citizens to travel to space.
Increasing international collaboration is also playing a key role. Saudi Arabia's first mission took the first Muslim and Arab astronaut, Prince Sultan bin Salman, into space aboard NASA's Discovery Shuttle. More recently, Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi — the first female Arab in space — participated in the Axiom-2 mission.
Saudi Arabia is also a signatory to the Artemis Accords, along with more than 50 other nations, paving the way for deep space and lunar missions and research. International cooperation is expanding opportunities for other countries as well; Pakistan was recently announced as the first foreign nation to have a citizen conduct research on China's space station.
Being an international space medicine and health educator, mentor, and researcher, I would like to highlight that a critical prerequisite at the core of all future human missions is the health and well-being of the humans in space. This is especially important as Saudi Arabia advances its space sector, furthering research and its astronaut program in support of Vision 2030.
In my recent publication in one of the world's distinguished scientific journals, I focused on keeping astronauts healthy in space. It highlights the human physiological, health, and psychological challenges inherent in space.
The publication also explores the specific complexities of deep space environments, where scientific understanding of human health, sustained radiation exposure, and other unprecedented difficulties remains notably limited.
Key challenges in deep space missions include studies showing significantly higher daily radiation exposure on the lunar and Martian surfaces compared to Earth. We must also develop innovative approaches for healthcare delivery in space.
Traditionally reliant on telemedicine and Earth-based support, such systems face major limitations due to communication delays — with signals between Mars and Earth taking up to 20 minutes one way — making Earth-dependent care inefficient in medical emergencies.
One solution is to incorporate advanced artificial intelligence for autonomous medical assistance, a domain in which Saudi Arabia is actively investing through initiatives like its National Strategy for Data and AI.
Another key area of concern is the mood and mental health challenges. Human missions to Mars will face many stressors, including the long duration away from loved ones, with the trip itself taking around 7–10 months in a confined space.
I have heard some find it tiring to drive from Jeddah to Riyadh in a car for almost 10 hours — so how would you feel being stuck in that limited space non-stop for 10 months? Reflecting on confined space, I am reminded of Prince Sultan's quote about his mission: 'You miss space most in space.'
My deep interest and experience in space medicine and health originate from a foundational conviction — reinforced by being a medical doctor, academic, and space medicine educator and researcher — that the optimal health of astronauts will always take precedence in any human space mission, regardless of how advanced our engineering, policies, or propulsion systems are.
If an astronaut's health is compromised, even the most technologically advanced mission will be put on hold. No crewed space mission would receive approval until we ensure astronauts' health and well-being can be maintained throughout the mission.
Consequently, space medicine, life sciences, and health are not merely significant; they are absolutely indispensable for Saudi Arabia's future in space. For these reasons, I strongly recommend that Saudi Arabia prioritize developing its own robust capabilities in this field. Establishing national capacity in this critical domain is crucial for future endeavors, and I am ready to bring my expertise to help develop and drive this vision forward.
— Dr. Farhan M. Asrar is a Canadian physician, academic, and space medicine researcher. He is associate dean at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Medicine and holds senior faculty/leadership roles at the University of Toronto and International Space University.