Healthcare in Space, Part II: Essential Services and Innovations for Martian Settlers

Introduction

In the opening article for our series on rebuilding healthcare on mars, we looked at the demographics of the first mars settlers, and what type of health concerns they would face from their work and environment. To summarize:

• Initial settlers would be 26-46 years old.

• We’ll need 2500 medical staff to support the 1 million people on Mars goal

• Highly skilled laborers (Engineers / Scientists / Farmers) will dominate the workplace

• Workplace conditions in outer spaces are major environmental factors that affects settlers’ health.

Since we can’t just send UnitedHealthGroup to Mars, what healthcare services do we need to prioritize and make sure we get right on the first flight over to Mars?

Dealing with Workplace Injuries:

Building a suitable habitat for Mars explorers and creating a sustainable food supply chain is a massive undertaking. Not only will the task be intellectually challenging, but also physically demanding, as early settlers will likely have to work with their hands to accomplish their goals, putting a huge emphasis on physical wellbeing and safety. Addressing these major concerns will require:

Occupational Safety and Health: 

Given the hazardous nature of construction and maintenance tasks on Mars, implementing robust OSHA-type services will be vital. This includes preventive measures, safety training, and injury management protocols.

Musculoskeletal Services:

The physically demanding tasks of building habitats and maintaining equipment will increase the risk of musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains, strains, fractures, and back pain. MSK specialists will be necessary to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and preventive care.

Addressing Mental Health Challenges:

It’s likely that the first settlers will have to leave behind friends and family to explore the red planet. Without their familiar social support system, many early settlers will experience loneliness and isolation, in addition to the stress of being completely cut off from familiar settings and support

The inhospitable Martian landscape will mean settlers will spend most of their days indoors. Even when they venture outside, they’ll be in protective spacesuits that could be claustrophobic for some. Long periods of being indoors are liked to increased rates of depression and anxiety, and most of us can relate given our own experiences with the recent COVID lockdowns.

Mental Health products and services would be a top priority if we are to keep the first settlers happy and motivated.

Focus on Exercise and Fitness:

The surface gravity on Mars is only 38% of that on Earth, which means that there are unique challenges to the physical body that we have to pay extra attention to:

Orthopedic and Fitness Services:

To counteract the effects of microgravity, which can lead to muscle atrophy and bone density loss, structured exercise regimens are crucial. Orthopedic and fitness specialists will oversee fitness programs and manage any related injuries.

Cardiovascular Health:

Our circulatory system evolved with gravity in mind, and prolonged exposure to microgravity will weaken our cardiovascular function. In addition to exercise regimens, cardiologists will be needed to ensure the settlers are in good health.

Radiation Exposure:

While we don’t think much of sunlight shining on us on Earth, exposure to the Martian sunlight is a totally different ballgame. Due to the lack of an atmosphere and magnetic field shielding, radiation exposure can be 40-50 times more than on Earth.

This chronic exposure can increase the risk of various health problems over time, including:

• Cancer

• Cataracts

• Central nervous system damage

• Weakened immune system

A mix of primary care physicians and oncologists are likely needed for monitoring, early detection, and treatment of radiation-induced illnesses.

Building a Martian Medical Infrastructure: Efficiency and Adaptability

All that posturing about how we will keep our early settlers healthy and productive wouldn’t matter if we can’t deliver the products and services necessary to act on their health needs. Beyond having the right mix of specialties to address the urgent health issues of living in space, specific products and innovations are required to make healthcare on Mars a reality.

Modular Medical Facilities:

Traditional brick-and-mortar construction would be slow and resource-intensive on Mars. Modular medical facilities, prefabricated on Earth and shipped to Mars, offer a quicker and more efficient solution.

In addition, Modular units can be easily added or reconfigured to adapt to the evolving needs of the Martian population. This flexibility allows for expansion as the colony grows.

Reconsidering Medical Products Designs:

• Patient Friendly: Medical personnel will be at a premium, so early settlers will likely have to operate some medical equipment and self-administer treatment. For example, rapid point of care diagnostic tests that seem to only find adoption in limited applications or sudden outbreaks on Earth will finally be favored due to the lack of infrastructure on Mars early on to support widespread lab-based tests.

• Reusable: Many medical products tend to be single use on Earth due to contamination concerns, but precious cargo space would mean that reusable products will be necessary. Redesigning medical products with antimicrobial materials and designs enabling maximum sterilant penetration will be necessary to be deployed on Mars.

• Recyclable: If a single use product must be used, they will have to be able recyclable so waste isn’t created. Either these products need to be repurposed after use, or they can be made biodegradable.

Reaching Out: Telemedicine and Remote monitoring

• Telemedicine Lifeline: Given the limited number of medical personnel on Mars, telemedicine will be crucial. Real-time consultations with specialists on Earth or an orbiting command center, remote surgery guidance, and even the use of medical robots controlled by remote physicians for complex procedures may be necessary to support long term Mars missions.

• Always Connected: Reliable high-bandwidth communication infrastructure is essential for telemedicine and remote monitoring of patients' vital signs. This allows for early detection of potential health issues and timely interventions.

Digital Therapeutics for Mental Wellbeing

Digital mental health solutions blossomed during the COVID era, and while the market has run into serious headwinds post-COVID, these products will be a permanent fixture on Mars. Examples include:

• Virtual Reality (VR) Therapy: VR technology can create immersive therapeutic environments to combat feelings of isolation and claustrophobia. VR can also be used for exposure therapy to help settlers adjust to the unfamiliar Martian environment.

• Mental Health Apps: Mobile apps can provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) exercises, mindfulness training, and other tools to help Martian colonists.

Regular, structured physical exercise is important for maintaining physical health; mental health should be no different, especially on Mars, and digital products have the potential to make taking care of mental health a regular part of routine life on Mars.

Pharma on Mars: Drug Manufacturing

Drug shortages are unfortunately becoming a familiar sight on Earth, and Mars will be no different, albeit for different reasons. Again considering the precious cargo space of the initial mission and few resupply missions, the initial Mars colony will have to be as self-sufficient as possible.

To achieve this, advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing need to be utilized, such as

• Continuous Manufacturing: Standard batch manufacturing (where multiple sites are required to get a final product) would not work on Mars; Continuous manufacturing where everything is produced in one centralized area will help quickly set up drug production capabilities on Mars.

• 3D Printing Pharmaceuticals: 3D printing technology has the potential to revolutionize drug manufacturing on Mars. Imagine printing customized medications on demand, reducing reliance on stockpiles shipped from Earth and ensuring a steady supply of essential drugs.

• In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU): Researchers are exploring ways to utilize Martian resources for pharmaceutical production. This could involve extracting elements needed for drug synthesis from Martian soil or the atmosphere.

Conclusion

The mega complex healthcare systems with every specialty available on Earth won’t be suitable for Mars; We’ll need to support only the most critical and immediate healthcare concerns the Martian environment imposes on the early settlers, particularly concerning MSK, mental health, cardiovascular health, oncology, and primary care. Encouragingly, the products necessary to support healthcare services on Mars seem to already be readily available despite their adoption challenges on Earth, and we’re well positioned to provide healthcare services on Mars.

What kind of economic system would be build around healthcare for Mars to efficiently deploy scarce resources? Join us next week as we go further down the rabbit hole of building healthcare for Mars!

Don’t go to space alone; bring a friend! Share our newsletter, and stay tuned to our newsletter for more insights into healthcare innovation.

Want to invest in space-age, cutting edge medical technologies? Join us at The Healthcare Syndicate as we back the most ambitious founders 10Xing the standard of healthcare!