A systems approach to the physiology of weightlessness

This paper presents a systems approach to the unraveling of the complex response pattern of the human subjected to the challenge of weightlessness. The major goal of this research is to obtain an understanding of the role that each of the major components of the human system plays following the transition to and from space. The cornerstone of this approach is the utilization of a variety of mathematical models in order to pose and test alternative hypotheses concerned with the adaptation process. An integrated hypothesis for the human physiological response to weightlessness is developed.