Senator Glenn: All Systems Go!

The Huffington Center on Aging proudly salutes Sen. Glenn for his courage to undertake his latest endeavor. NASA will send   77 year old John Glenn back into space, 36 years after the he became the first American to orbit earth. Senator Glenn will serve as "Payload Specialist" on shuttle Discovery in October 1998. We certainly believe that he, along with other Americans his age, has "The Right Stuff".

Dr. Robert J. Luchi, founding director of the Huffington Center on Aging, is one member of a  team of geriatricians/gerontologists convened to assess potential risks and benefits of flying older adults.  The team, comprised of Luchi, John Burton, M.D. of John's Hopkins, Jeffrey Halter, M.D. of the University of Michigan and Robert Butler, M.D. of Mt Sinai, has had two conference calls with NASA officials to discuss these issues.  The possibility of relating changes in body physiology in microgravity to changes in body physiology which occurs as one ages here on earth are of considerable interest to researchers such as  Luchi.

This shuttle launch is equipped with the SpaceHab-DM (Space Habitat), and that means an extra seat. Glenn will be able to fly as part of a set of experiments sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to investigate connections between the effects of weightlessness and the aging process. The research was peer reviewed by independent scientists, and includes studies on sleep, muscle atrophy, balance, and clinical evaluations of blood and heart function.

Since aging and space flight share a number of similar physiological responses, the study of space flight may provide a model  to help  better understanding aging. The Alliance for Aging Research reacted  saying that Glenn's trip could possibly lead to solutions to diseases such as osteoporosis or to problems like   muscle loss, balance disorders and sleep disturbances. Gerontologists and space biomedical researchers   believe that by studying these effects  in space we may be able to help Americans on earth live longer, healthier lives without costly healthcare.

"Senator Glenn is an extraordinary individual", remarked Dr. Luchi. "I remember speaking with one of the physicians involved in assessing Senator Glenn for his 1962 flight who stated that 'there was none more highly qualified for America's first orbital flight than John Glenn'.  I'm very excited about Senator Glenn's flight.  I would love to be the second septuagenerian to fly on a shuttle mission!"

As syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman said in a recent piece on Sen. Glenn's upcoming space flight, if his flight does nothing more than reinforce in the minds of all Americans that older people can be productive in a variety of areas then, in the words of NASA: "Mission Accomplished."

"Senator Glenn is particularly well qualified since he has done this before," Said Dr. Robert Butler, professor of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and a part of the Geriatric assessment team. " His involvement makes a bold statement about the capabilities of older people and will help us understand the effects of aging and space flight. Senator Glenn's courage and willingness to undertake this mission are notable.  It serves both science and a better understanding of what human beings of all ages will experience as we enter the next century to have an older person included on a space flight."

NASA's Press Release