Kuipers then guides his astronaut through an extensive rehabilitation process that constantly tracks and monitors his overall health. “Muscle and bone mass has decreased due to weightlessness, and the leg muscles sometimes reach 15 percent. They may also suffer from back or neck problems.” Core muscles also often weaken. In space, astronauts must exercise about two hours a day to maintain muscle and bone mass.
How to become an astronaut doctor?
Since 2016, Kuipers has been employed by the European Space Agency (ESA), through the French institute MEDES. As a flight surgeon, he assists an astronaut (accompanying one person on each mission) from start to finish. The Kuipers are the only Dutch people in the world who do this.
In recent years, she has mentored several European astronauts, including Alexander Gerst, Luca Parmitano, Thomas Pesquet, Matthias Maurer, and Samantha Cristoforetti – the first European woman to spacewalk and become commander of the International Space Station.
Commercial space flight
How did you end up in this world as a Dutch doctor? (Very) long story short: Kuipers became an emergency room doctor. Then he took a special course in “Aerospace Medicine” in Texas and through this Kuipers was asked to work for XCOR, the company of Michel Moll, a Dutch entrepreneur who wanted to organize commercial space flights.
“I train candidates, give them health checks, and conduct scientific research.” His research made Kuipers famous in the space sector. The European Space Agency applied for the vacancy and was appointed in 2016.
2023-09-02 09:41:52
#Maybrett #Kuipers #instructs #astronauts #colleagues #fireball
