UF Space Medicine History
After the STS-51 Challenger disaster, Physician specialists from UF Gainesville and Jacksonville, including doctors from EMS, EM, Anesthesia, Surgical, Critical Care, Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, began providing comprehensive medical support to U.S. Space Shuttle Operations. Several of the physicians from that era are still here at UF, adding their valued experience to the Space Medicine Division.
A smashing of faculty and staff supporting NASA Space Shuttle operations in the early 2000’s.
Division of Space Medicine
Our Division of Space Medicine is a growing multi-disciplinary collaboration of physicians, scientists, and engineers, at the University of Florida Astraeus Space Institute. We are physicians, expert educators, and subject matter experts aiming to understand and promote human health in spaceflight and on extra-terrestrial worlds and extreme environments. We leverage our combined experiences in operating in extreme and international austere environments with our desire to help forge the next growth of human civilization.
Space Medicine Fellowship
The University of Florida Space Medicine Fellowship, in creation since early 2024, is designed to develop the next generation flight surgeon who enables human spaceflight for all those who dare. We are a member of the Space Medicine Fellowship Council, which comprises several great institutions such as UT Houston, MGH, and University of Arizona. Our fellowship is partnered with UCLA Space Medicine, with many of the same opportunities available during your training but with differences in clinical rotations and home institution.
Your training will push your limits of understanding of extreme physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, austere medical care, and human systems engineering, to name a few. You will become competent in aspects of specialty knowledge within dive medicine, interventional radiology, and many others. Not only will you graduate understanding the core curriculum of space medicine, but you will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead human spaceflight to Mars and beyond. Join us in 2026.
The history of exploration and settlement of the stars will be marked by the advent of wondrous medical technologies and systems medicine, tailored to insure that humans can survive the rigors of space flight and extra-terrestrial environments.
Early space exploration was marred by the unknown: can humans survive microgravity? The forces of reentry? The radiation environment of low earth orbit? Would they even maintain the cognition to pilot their own spacecraft?
In 2025, many questions have been answered, but an equal number of questions have materialized as the capability for permanent human existence paradigm has become a reality.
A smashing of faculty and staff supporting NASA Space Shuttle operations in the early 2000’s.
Join Us!
Be a part of the next generation of space medicine physicians who seek to unlock the mysteries of the universe, and understand our place in them. Your training will expose you to opportunities and a lifetime of learning unparalleled.