Commercial Industry Engagement in Astronaut Health Research – Lessons Learned at the Precipice of a New Era of Human Spaceflight

To date, commercial industry has had a small, but growing role in addressing health risks during human spaceflight. With the prospect of greater numbers of humans in space than ever before, this paper presents key lessons learned from the past 10 years of commercial participation in space-related human health projects, identifying key drivers of successful engagements, cataloguing major barriers to commercial participation, and determining how commercial organizations can help address near- and long-term human health risks associated with spaceflight. The results will enable NASA, commercial destination providers, and key stakeholders to understand the best approaches to encourage greater commercial participation and investment in space human health initiatives while avoiding pitfalls that could undermine future efforts.