PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Space Technol.
Sec. Space Exploration
This article is part of the Research TopicLiving in SpaceView all 5 articles
From Molecules to Minds – An Integrative Framework for Living in Space
Provisionally accepted
- 1MMAARS, Lancaster, United States
- 2VASTX, London, United Kingdom
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As humanity transitions from episodic exploration to sustained habitation beyond low Earth orbit, the long-term viability of human life in space has become a critical scientific challenge. Survival in extraterrestrial environments requires more than engineering solutions; it demands an integrative approach that addresses molecular stability, physiological regulation, psychological adaptation, and ethical governance. This perspective proposes a unified framework that combines space medicine, multi-omics science, behavioral health, and agentic artificial intelligence to meet the complex demands of long-duration missions. Human heterogeneity, sex-specific physiology, epigenetic plasticity, and the operational boundaries of AI are examined alongside the distinction between adult astronaut adaptation and the unresolved biological risks of multi-generational colonization. By situating technological advancement within a human-centered, ethically governed paradigm, this framework offers a structured roadmap for a sustainable human presence beyond Earth.
Keywords: space, Astronautics, Steam, Living in space, Technologies
Received: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jewell, Badhan, Jewell, Sonawane and Srenivasan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Susan Jewell
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