International Space Medicine Summit takes aim at the moon

The next giant leap in human spaceflight will require more than rockets, spacesuits, and new destinations. It will require answering a fundamental question: How do you protect human health when help may be hundreds of thousands of miles away?

That challenge brought leaders in space medicine, human spaceflight, research, and aerospace operations to UTHealth Houston Nov. 3-5 for the 2026 International Space Medicine Summit, hosted by the university for a second straight year in partnership with Texas A&M University and the University of Central Florida.

Across three days, experts examined challenges ranging from behavioral health and emergency evacuation to the physical demands of lunar surface operations, medical risks during spaceflight, and the workforce needed to support increasingly ambitious missions.

Michael Bungo, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, introduced UTHealth Houston President and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair Melina R. Kibbe, MD, to open the summit, followed by host remarks from Kris Lehnhardt, MD, director of the Space Medicine Program at McGovern Medical School.

“Space exploration is pushing us to rethink what is possible in medicine, and that is incredibly exciting,” Kibbe said. “We need to better understand how the human body responds to microgravity, how diseases may develop or present differently, and how we can diagnose, treat, and even prevent illness in space. These are questions we need to answer as we prepare for a future when humans may spend extended periods of time living and working beyond Earth.”

Preparing medicine for space

The summit’s focus reflected a changing reality in human spaceflight: Planning for exploration beyond low Earth orbit also means preparing for medical care farther from Earth.

The first major panel examined human spaceflight exploration strategy and new lunar architecture. The program then tackled medical needs during lunar surface operations, , high-tempo extravehicular activities, and the risk of venous thrombus during spaceflight.

Anil Menon, MD, MPH, NASA astronaut and staff physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School, underscored that connection in a video message delivered from the International Space Station.

“Whether we’re addressing the physiological and behavioral changes of microgravity, testing the next generation of diagnostics, or building medical foundation for lunar and Mars exploration, your expertise keeps crew healthy, resilient, and mission ready,” Menon said.

For Lehnhardt, the work also carries implications far beyond the people who travel to space.

“That is the promise of space medicine: discoveries made beyond Earth that change how we care for people here at home,” Lehnhardt said.

As an example, he pointed to pharmaceutical company Merck’s research aboard the International Space Station, which involved crystals of its cancer immunotherapy treatment pembrolizumab. According to Lehnhardt, what researchers learned from crystals grown more uniformly in microgravity helped make possible a formulation administered by injection rather than intravenous infusion.

At the same time, the push toward the moon and more distant destinations is creating medical challenges that cannot be solved simply by adapting healthcare on Earth.

“Space medicine is, first and foremost, the practice of medicine, in an environment that is isolated, constrained, and unforgiving,” Lehnhardt said.

UTHealth Houston’s work spans clinical innovation in extreme environments, research and technology development, education and workforce development, and commercial spaceflight support. Lehnhardt highlighted efforts ranging from research conducted during the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission and work with NASA to educational programs for medical students and a two-year Space Medicine Fellowship.

He also pointed to a recently published paper with SpaceX describing a method for reducing a dislocated shoulder inside a spacesuit—an example of the type of medical problem a crew could face on the lunar surface.

A community built around collaboration

The International Space Medicine Summit has long brought together astronauts, physicians, researchers, engineers, space agency leaders, and other experts to confront the human health challenges associated with exploration.

UTHealth Houston assumed a leadership role in hosting the summit in 2025, following more than 17 years at Rice University under George W.S. Abbey, former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Abbey, who died in 2024, was again recognized during this year’s opening program.

“What has never changed is the spirit of this room: astronauts, physicians, researchers, engineers, and industry leaders from many nations, working together on problems none of us can solve alone,” Lehnhardt said.

Menon, who previously served as a flight surgeon and participated in the summit before becoming a NASA astronaut, described the meeting as a model for the type of international cooperation needed to tackle the health challenges of exploration.

“I'm excited to see where your collaboration leads next. Low Earth Orbit, Moonbase, Mars, I send all of our love and encouragement to you from 250 miles above Earth. I wish I was there with you,” Menon said.

Bringing what space teaches us home

The summit’s final panel turned toward international STEM and workforce development, examining the pipeline of scientists, physicians, engineers, and other professionals who will support future human spaceflight.

At UTHealth Houston, that pipeline includes a fourth-year space medicine elective, a new McGovern Space Medicine Scholarly Concentration, and the Space Medicine Fellowship, which trains acute care physicians in operational space medicine, mission planning, and medical system design.

The university is also pursuing research intended to connect discoveries in orbit with healthcare on Earth. In his opening remarks, Lehnhardt highlighted a new partnership with Exobiosphere to design and conduct biomedical experiments in orbit, which he said lays groundwork for a proposed Space Medicine Lab in the Texas Medical Center.

For Lehnhardt, the objectives on Earth and in space ultimately converge.

“Our goal is simple to state but hard to achieve: keep people happy, healthy, and productive as they live and work in space and bring what we learn in space home to millions of patients here on Earth,” he said.