Spaceflight Prematurely Ages Astronauts

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AThe astronaut body undergoes many constraints, beyond the extraordinary g-forces at launch. Microgravity, cosmic radiation, disruptions to the biological clock and more take a toll on space travelers. Now, new research is shedding light on how these invisible stressors can prematurely age astronauts and how they can bounce back.

Buck Institute scientists David Furman and Matias Fuentealba collected blood samples from four astronauts before, during and after a 10-day trip to low Earth orbit on the Axiom-2 mission. Working with labs in New York and Saudi Arabia, they developed what they call the “epigenetic age acceleration” (EAA) formula to measure how gene expression and biological age are altered by spaceflight. They published their findings in Aging cell.

Read more: »Physics makes aging inevitable, not biology»

Overall, the team studied 32 different clocks based on DNA methylation and determined that the astronauts’ epigenetic ages advanced by almost two years by the seventh day of their journey, then quickly recovered once they returned to Earth. In fact, the young astronauts had a lower biological age than their pre-flight measurements.

“These results suggest the exciting possibility that humans possess intrinsic rejuvenating factors capable of counteracting these stressors that accelerate aging,” Furman explained in a statement. “Using spaceflight as a platform to study the mechanisms of aging gives us a working model that will allow us to move toward the ultimate goal of identifying and enhancing these rejuvenating factors both in astronauts and in those of us who plan to age in more conventional ways.”

Meanwhile, Furman studies the effects of microgravity on the heart, brain, and immune cells in his laboratory on Earth, all in an effort to delay our inevitable journey to the final frontier.

Main illustration: DGIM studio / Shutterstock

• Jake Currie

  Published on January 17, 2026

  Jake Currie is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York.