From space medicine to preventive and personalized health care on earth

Abstract The experience of human spaceflight has taught us that aging can be modulated, accelerated and decelerated. This is also confirmed by a number of experiments on animal models. However in order to be effective in managing aging and maintaining quality of life, a new approach needs to be adopted, one that many today call functional medicine or anti-aging medicine that in its essence is very similar to the medical approach provided to the astronauts by space agencies. Space medicine therefore can become a vehicle for the promotion of a new way of doing medicine on Earth.