Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India’s push into human spaceflight is drawing the country’s top medical institute into the mission. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Human Space Flight Centre on Monday signed an agreement to collaborate on space medicine, opening the door for research on how the human body behaves in space — and how those insights could improve healthcare on Earth.The collaboration establishes a framework for ground-based and space-based research in areas including human physiology, cardiovascular and autonomic regulation, musculoskeletal health in microgravity, microbiome and immunology, genomics and biomarkers, and behavioural health.Explaining the medical significance of such studies, Prof K K Deepak, former head of physiology at AIIMS, said research on how the human body behaves in space can also help doctors better understand diseases on Earth. “In microgravity, astronauts experience muscle loss, bone weakening and fluid shifts in the body — changes that resemble accelerated ageing. Studying these processes helps scientists understand how ageing affects muscles, bones and circulation in people on Earth,” he said.Technologies developed to counter these effects in astronauts, such as devices that improve blood flow in the legs, could also help treat patients with circulation problems and help maintain muscle strength, he added.AIIMS director Prof M Srinivas said the collaboration would open new frontiers in medical research. “This MoU will give us the escape velocity to venture into space medicine. Research between AIIMS and ISRO will benefit patients, the nation and ultimately humankind,” he said.Addressing the gathering, Narayanan highlighted the journey of India’s space programme from its early days—when rockets and equipment were transported using bicycles and bullock carts—to its present position as a global leader in space technology. He said partnerships with institutions such as AIIMS will play an important role in strengthening India’s human spaceflight capabilities.The programme also included an overview of AIIMS’ ongoing work in space medicine research presented by Prof Deepak. Officials said the partnership marks a step toward strengthening India’s capabilities in human spaceflight and biomedical research as the country advances its space ambitions.The memorandum of understanding was signed by AIIMS director M. Srinivas and Dinesh Kumar Singh, director of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre, in the presence of ISRO chairman and secretary, department of space, V. Narayanan, along with senior faculty and students from the institute.
