On 24 and 25 November, in the Victory Hall of the Air Force Command and 1st Air Region in Milan, the 5th Milanese Day of Aerospace Medicine, event organised by the’Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IMA) of Milan which in this edition wanted to tackle themes connected to human space exploration, one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of our time, and specifically the binomial Longevity e Human salute in flight and space, analysing the cellular, neurological, and systemic aspects that determine human resilience in extreme contexts.
The symposium, spread over two days, saw, on Monday the 24th, an introductory session with institutional greetings from General S.A. Silvano Frigerio Air Squad Commander, General S.A. (Retired) Giovanni Fantuzzi Director of CESMA, Chief Inspector General Pietro Perelli (Chief of the Air Force Medical Corps), Brigadier General Emanuele Garzia (Head of the Aeronautical Health Service) and Colonel Marco Lastilla (IMA Milan Director). Following this, the address by Professor Emerita Ing. Amalia Ercoli Finzi of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Politecnico di Milano, with a masterclass from the title “Living in space: humanity as an interplanetary species”.
The second day, however, was structured into two sessions, during which themes related to molecular and neurological mechanisms, as well as psychophysical adaptation in space, were explored, thus getting to the heart of the work. Among the speakers present at the event, in addition to internal personnel from the Air Force, authoritative experts representing the academic world participated, such as the’University of Brescia, the’University of Milan, the’University of Padua, ’University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and the’University of Rome Tor Vergata. Participation also extended to the healthcare and research sectors, with specialists from the’IRCSS San Raffaele Hospital and that AMIA, as well as technology and consulting professionals such as Healthy Reply.
The focus stems from the practical prospect of prolonged human stays in extraterrestrial environments, such as the Moon and Mars, a topic that raises fundamental questions about the organism's ability to adapt to microgravity conditions, exposure to ionising radiation, and the alteration of normal physiological mechanisms.
Particular attention in the papers presented during the conference was paid to prevention and protection strategies for biological systems, the impact of microgravity on the brain, muscles, vestibular system and fertility, as well as advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, which play a fundamental role in the study of human health in the aerospace environment.
The 5th Milanese Day of Aerospace Medicine aimed, in this context, to represent a moment of institutional and scientific integration between the operational components of the Air Force and the academic community, testifying to the continuous search for strategic partnerships with Universities, Hospitals, Scientific Institutes, and Research Bodies with the objective of consolidating national aerospace culture, developing synergies between military and civilian research, and contributing to the growth of knowledge on the mechanisms that regulate Longevity and the Flight health, for the benefit of the scientific community and healthcare professionals.
