TIANJIN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a significant role in supporting China's crewed space missions over the past decade and could offer comprehensive health protection for astronauts in the future, experts said at an aerospace medical engineering conference in Tianjin Municipality in north China.
The conference, held from Saturday to Sunday, brought together experts and scholars from fields including aerospace medicine, human factors engineering and life sciences to discuss the medical engineering challenges of future deep space exploration.
Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a renowned TCM master, said the unique conditions of spaceflight -- where astronauts face altered breathing, digestion and mobility in microgravity -- make TCM's holistic approach particularly well-suited for maintaining crew health.
"TCM uses a comprehensive approach to regulate the body, such as adjusting qi, or vital energy, and blood imbalances with herbal medicine and using acupuncture to improve unstable heart rates, indigestion and poor sleep," Zhang said.
Wu Bin, an expert at the Astronaut Center of China, highlighted specific applications of TCM in space. Acupuncture can help regulate sleep and prevent muscle atrophy, while Chinese patent medicines can improve cardiovascular function and help astronauts adapt to microgravity.
"In the future, we will continue to use the national space laboratory as a unique platform to conduct TCM research -- not only to address health protection for low-Earth orbit flights, but also to seek TCM technologies and methods for medical challenges in crewed deep space exploration," Wu said.
Astronaut Zhang Lu, who has flown on both the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-21 missions, said TCM has been closely linked to mission success. During the Shenzhou-21 mission, which lasted nearly seven months in orbit, the crew used TCM equipment to stimulate nerves and muscles in the mid-to-late stages of flight to counter muscle atrophy, he said.
The space station is stocked with TCM medicines, including the space heart-nourishing pills and functional drinks that help with radiation protection and immune support, Zhang Lu added.
Zhang Boli noted that research shows TCM approaches can also counter orthostatic intolerance, cardiovascular dysfunction and space motion sickness, enriching the toolkit for astronaut health protection from physical and mental conditioning to disease prevention.
China's space station, Tiangong, which means Heavenly Palace, has now entered an era of long-term human habitation. One member of the Shenzhou-23 crew will conduct a one-year in-orbit stay, while the country's 2030 crewed moon landing mission is advancing steadily. ■
