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Roman M. Baevsky, a dedicated scientist, compassionate physician, beloved mentor, and dear friend left us on May 31, 2020 at the age of 91 years. He had served as chief researcher at the scientific center of the Russian Federation—Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBMP). Throughout his career, his work was focused on autonomic cardiovascular control mechanisms and how they are challenged in extreme environments, particularly during space travel. Moreover, he developed the concept that non-invasive cardiovascular autonomic testing could identify individuals at increased risk before symptoms occurred to guide preventive measures. Roman M. Baevsky began his scientific career as a military flight surgeon on Sakhalin Island from 1952 to 1957 and never stopped until the end of his remarkable life. His experience in aviation medicine provided a solid foundation for his pioneering work in space medicine. He was a physician scientist with exquisite engineering skills and profound physiological knowledge. Roman M. Baevsky was among the last Ph.D. students of Parin V.V., the legendary Russian founder of biocybernetics. Furthermore, he was co-founder of space cardiology in Russia [9]. He contributed substantially to the field over more than 5 decades always seeking to integrate space medicine with clinical applications on Earth (Fig. 1). Roman M. Baevsky invented and developed the first Russian ballistocardiography devices, which picked up forces generated by the beating heart through sensors on the body surface. The methodology, which required that pilots placed their legs on the ballistocardiograph, provided cardiovascular function data within seconds at a time when echocardiography was not available [1]. He recognized that these tools could also have utility in larger scale epidemiological studies. Later on, he combined different non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring techniques including ballistocardiography in small wearable devices for applications in space [4]. Interestingly, ballistocardiography provides particularly valid information on cardiac forces while floating in weightlessness. Over the years, he conducted multiple experiments in space with continuously improved technology that is still used onboard the International Space Station [5, 7]. He was directly involved in preparation and medical support of the first animal and human space flights. For example, he obtained heart rate recordings in Leika, the first dog that flew safely to space. He also conducted such measurements in Yuri Gagarin, the first human being in space. Over the decades, he served as principal investigator for numerous space experiments onboard Soviet [2, 3] and Russian space vessels [6] and later on the International Space Stations (ISS) [11]. In addition, he was principal investigator in terrestrial space analog studies, such as dry immersion, isolation, and head-down tilt bedrest [10], in cooperation with many international partners. One of his major aims was to have people on Earth benefit from scientific insight and technologies generated in space medicine. For example, back in the 60s and 70s of the last century, he established statistical and spectral analysis of the cardiac rhythm later called heart rate variability analysis to study the autonomic nervous system in space and on Earth [8]. He developed the concept that the transition process from health to disease should be captured, which he called “pre-nosological diagnosis”. He wrote several books in Russian detailing the concept, which had an important impact on preventive-, sports-, and rehabilitation medicine in the country and affected public health policies of the Russian Ministry of Health [12]. * Jens Tank jens.tank@dlr.de

In Memoriam: Roman M. Baevsky (1928–2020), a life in autonomic space medicine