{"dataset":{"slug":"space-physiological-effects","title":"Physiological Effects of Spaceflight","description":"How spaceflight changes the human body — bone and muscle loss, fluid shift, vision changes, radiation effects, and more.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":5,"sources":["nasa"]},"entities":[{"id":"physiological_effect:cardiovascular-deconditioning","name":"Cardiovascular Deconditioning","type":"physiological_effect","domain":"science","description":"The heart and blood vessels adapt to weightlessness, and the heart can weaken without the constant work of pumping against gravity. Crews often experience orthostatic intolerance — dizziness on standing — when they return to gravity.","entryPath":"/space-medicine/cardiovascular-deconditioning"},{"id":"physiological_effect:circadian-disruption","name":"Circadian Rhythm Disruption","type":"physiological_effect","domain":"science","description":"On the ISS the crew sees sixteen sunrises a day, and mission schedules can shift sleep times; the resulting disruption of the body clock degrades sleep, alertness, and performance.","entryPath":"/space-medicine/circadian-disruption"},{"id":"physiological_effect:immune-dysregulation","name":"Immune Dysregulation","type":"physiological_effect","domain":"science","description":"Spaceflight alters the immune system — some functions are dampened while latent viruses can reactivate — a concern for crew health on long missions far from medical care.","entryPath":"/space-medicine/immune-dysregulation"},{"id":"physiological_effect:psychological-stress","name":"Isolation & Psychological Stress","type":"physiological_effect","domain":"science","description":"Long missions in a confined habitat, far from family and unable to leave, place real psychological demands on crews — from mood and interpersonal tension to the cognitive effects of monotony — that grow with distance and duration.","entryPath":"/space-medicine/psychological-stress"},{"id":"physiological_effect:space-adaptation-syndrome","name":"Space Adaptation Syndrome","type":"physiological_effect","domain":"science","description":"In the first days of flight, the conflict between the eyes and the balance organs of the inner ear causes disorientation and nausea as the brain adapts to weightlessness; a mirror-image readaptation occurs on return to gravity.","entryPath":"/space-medicine/space-adaptation-syndrome"}]}