Torquay & District
Medical Society

Life first originated on Earth around 4 billion years ago.

Since that time, it has slowly diversified and evolved to occupy every possible environment.

Human physiology is therefore finely tuned to where we live, but space is a very different place.

In this talk, Dr Clive Sainsbury will explore the physical, mental, and emotional challenges which are associated with living in the space environment.

Measuring, monitoring and management of the consequences of prolonged exposure to these challenges will be reviewed using evidence gained on location, dominantly in the International Space Station.

Dr Clive Sainsbury grew up and went to school in Gloucestershire before studying Medicine at Edinburgh University, qualifying in 1972.

Following pre-registration, Dr Sainsbury pursued a career in Paediatrics - training in Adelaide, Liverpool, Toronto, Edinburgh, and Cardiff - before being appointed as Consultant Paediatrician for Torbay and South Devon in 1986.

Clive always had an enthusiasm for "all things space", and in 2016 completed (and passed!) an Edinburgh University module on Astrobiology.

Over the next decade, and onwards, it is likely that humans will be travelling further away from Earth (to space habitats, the Moon and Mars), and spending longer away from home, for scientific, exploratory, and recreational reasons.

Good health is, of course, a very significant consideration for achieving success in the progress towards working, learning, and living in space.