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Astronauts as a Human Aging Model: Epigenetic Age Responses to Space Exposure
Matías Fuentealba1, JangKeun Kim2, Jeremy Wain Hirschberg2
1Buck AI Platform, Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, USA.
Aging Cell
|January 12, 2026
Summary
Spaceflight rapidly accelerates biological aging, as measured by epigenetic clocks, but this effect is reversible upon return to Earth. This study highlights spaceflight as a unique model for understanding aging processes.
Area of Science:
- Space biology
- Gerontology
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Spaceflight involves environmental stressors like microgravity and radiation.
- These stressors may induce aging phenotypes, but their effect on biological aging is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of spaceflight on biological aging using DNA methylation.
- To investigate the reversibility of spaceflight-induced aging changes.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 32 DNA methylation-based biological age metrics in 4 astronauts.
- Collected samples pre-flight, in-flight (days 4, 7), and post-flight (days 1, 7).
Main Results:
- Biological age accelerated by an average of 1.91 years by flight day 7.
- Biological age decreased post-flight, with younger astronauts showing lower ages than pre-flight.
- Immune cell composition shifts partly explained age acceleration, but acceleration persisted even after adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Spaceflight induces rapid, reversible epigenetic changes associated with aging.
- Spaceflight serves as a platform to study aging and test interventions.
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