UK is one step beyond in space medicine

The United Kingdom is one step beyond in space medicine, an organizer of the 3rd UK Space Medicine Conference said on Sunday.

The UK is becoming isolated in this field and lacking behind its major partners such as the United States, France, German mainly because of lacking support by the UK government, Dr Kevin Fong, one of the organizers of the conference explained to Xinhua correspondent in an interview offside the conference which concluded here Sunday in Leicester, central England.

"The United Kingdom is one of few large economies in the world but has no human space program. That's a great shame as we will miss out on space science and educational advantages," said Fong who is the chairman of the UK Space Biomedicine Group, a body of doctors and health professionals involved in the field of modern medicine in UK.

Fong said "all research we do is in small scale and due to lacking of fund, we can not carry out big programs."

He warned that if the UK government which decided in 1995 not to carry out human spaceflight program does not change its attitude, the UK space medicine community will soon die out.

However, he said more recently there are some objective evidences that human space programs may not be all banned in UK. He urged the UK government to reconsider its position.

He said although the UK government does not at present support human spaceflight, many British scientists and doctors carry out research in the fields of aerospace and space medicine.

He said that the UK Space Biomedicine Group has gone from strength to strength since its founding in 2004, with fund support from charities, the public and international organizations such as European Space Agency and NASA.

The Group has made major progress in pursuing space medicine in UK as the annual UK Space medicine conference organized by the group attracts more and more trained doctors and scientists in the field of space medicine, Fong said, adding the group also has links with international space organizations like NASA and European Space Agency.

This year's conference was attended by some 100 doctors, health professionals, students and interested individuals from all over the globe.

Source: Xinhua