Mortreux: There are serious longer-term consequences for astronauts who travel to space. A lot of them return to earth with chronic lower back pain, which is due to atrophy of the muscles in the spine and decompression because the lack of gravity does not put the pressure on your bones the way it normally would on earth. While we can regain muscle mass, many astronauts have issues with weakness and fatigue that can create other issues when they return to Earth.

They also lose a lot of bones. Two to five years after they return from their mission, a lot of astronauts have bone loss that is significantly more than those in their age group. And they do not recover from that. Because of the bone loss, they are at a higher risk for fractures and osteoporosis.

Is there anything astronauts can do to prevent or reduce some of these health consequences?

Before the mission, astronauts have to undergo very intense training, which is critically important. When they are in flight, they have to exercise for two hours each day for six to seven days per week. It’s absolutely mandatory as this exercise really helps them at least slow down the rate at which they are losing bone and muscle.

There are a few astronauts that have participated in studies that looked at the effect of different treatments. Alendronate, which promotes new bone formation, was one treatment tested on a space station. [Alendronate is a medicine used to prevent and treat osteoporosis, which thins the bones.] For muscles, I’m looking at vitamins and other supplements that could be used.

When astronauts return to Earth, they must be taken care of and provided with recovery and rehabilitation as needed to ensure their health is kept in tact as much as possible. That’s already being done at NASA.

There’s a significant rise in commercial space exploration. How does that change the conversation around the consequences of someone’s health who is heading to space?

It’s important for us to think ahead because spaceflight is changing tremendously. We have new commercial opportunities and astronauts today are no longer just career astronauts. We have civilians going to space for a day. Maybe in a few years, we’ll see a space hotel. So how can we take care of your grandma who is going to space for her 80th birthday for a week? We have to make sure that’s possible now by examining the health of those participating in space travel now.

Does the level of impact an astronaut faces depend how long they are in space?

Yes. If you look at the astronauts during short missions, they have no problem getting out of the capsule. But if you look at Scott Kelly, who spent a year in space, he had to be carried away from the capsule by other people because he couldn’t move his head or walk on his own. Time has a great impact and so does the level of gravity that they would be exposed to.

But we have not exceeded one year of continuous stay in space. So what if someone stays for 10 years? What happens to their bones or muscles then? Does our body adapt? Because most of the problems right now happen to astronauts when they return to Earth.

How can we test treatments that may or may not work?

When we are testing on humans, a good analog to spaceflight is people who are on bedrest. When you’re on bedrest, you’re actually losing the same amount of muscle and bone that astronauts do because you are not bearing your weight.

You’ve received more funding from NASA. What else are you looking into?

In this research, there’s a strong bias where women are understudied. I want to change that. So I’m looking into how the sexes differentiate in their response to decreased gravity when it comes to their muscles and bones. Some interesting things have been identified so far. For example, females seem to be less prone to muscle and bone loss when they are in partial gravity.

I’m also looking to understand how female reproductive health risks are associated with long-duration space flights.

The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, and reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to reporter Alexa Gagosz at alexa.gagosz@globe.com.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.