Taken from his own planet, man has been surprisingly effective —given proper support—in adapting to space, then re-adapting to earth, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration physician points out.
Reviewing medical aspects of the US space program from the first 15-minute suborbital manned flight in May 1961 to the final Gemini flight of nearly four days last month, Charles A. Berry, MD, told fellow physicians at the AMA Clinical Convention:
"We have been privileged to observe the human body adapt to a new and hostile situation and to re-adapt in a surprisingly effective manner to our normal one-gravity earth environment....
"While much remains to be learned, man does not appear to be a barrier to the exploration of our universe if he is properly supported."
Turning to specific medical aspects Dr. Berry told the scientific session in Las Vegas that: