Stress of either psychological or physical nature can activate and/or paralyse humans' innate and adaptive immunity.  However, adequate immunity is crucial to the maintenance of health on earth and in space.  During space flight, human physiology and health are challenged by complex environmental stressors which might be at their most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions.  While previous publications have addressed the physiological changes that occur during space flight, this book goes further, by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the complex interaction of living conditions in space, the immune system, and astronauts' health.  It is explained how such analysis of the consequences of stress for the immune system may help in preventing, diagnosing, and counteracting immune-related alterations in health on earth as well as in space

Part I: Prelude: A personal view from above.-A view from the ESA Topical Team Stress and Immunity.

Part II: "Stress and Immunity"-research: a tight link between space and earth: What is Stress? The impact of everyday stressors on the immune system and health.

Part III: Stress & Immune Allostasis in Space, from brain to immune responses: Neurobiological mechanisms of stress and glucocorticoid effects on learning and memory: implications for stress disorders on earth and in space

The autonomous nervous system
Circadian rhythm and stress
Endocannabinoids, "new-old" mediators of stress homeostasis
Immune System, definitions and stress-sensitive functions
Innate Immunity under conditions of space flight.-NK Cells assessments: a thirty year old History of Immune stress interaction in Space
Adaptive Immunity and Spaceflight.-Stress, Hypoxia, and Immune Response
Gravitational force - triggered stress in cells of the immune system.-Microbial Stress: Spaceflight-induced alterations in microbial virulence and infectious disease risks for the crew
Stress, Spaceflight, and Latent Herpes Viruses Reactivation
Stress and Radiation-responsiveness.

Part IV: Preventive and Diagnostic Tool & Strategies: Consideration on minimal or non-invasive monitoring applications
Psychological Monitoring
Breath gas analyses
Microbiological environment, complementary procedures
Thermoregulation
Flow Cytometry
Radiation Sensitivity.

Part V: Therapeutic Strategies: Intro
Psychological
Physical
Nutrition
Pharmacological.