---
title: "Scientists Want to Jack Astronauts Up On Steroids"
description: "A team of scientists from the The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have come up with a new way to minimize muscle loss for space travelers: a treatment plan of hormones including testosterone and plenty of exercise.  "
date: "2019-06-17"
modified: "2019-06-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-astronauts-steroids-testosterone-muscle"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "astronauts"
  - "international space station"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Want to Jack Astronauts Up On Steroids

![A team of scientists have come up with a new way to minimize muscle loss for space travelers: testosterone plus plenty of exercise.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/scientists-astronauts-steroids-testosterone-muscle.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Asteroid Rage

A team of scientists from the the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have suggested a new way to minimize muscle loss for space travelers: a [treatment plan of hormones](<https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/06/utmb-researchers-learned-how-to-better-combat-muscle-loss-during-space-flights/>), including testosterone, plus plenty of exercise.

Keeping physically fit is extremely important when living in a microgravity environment. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have [specialized exercise equipment](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oN-XHKcCIY>) to maintain the strength of ligaments and muscles.

## Bed Rest

But the team from UTMB found that adding steroids to a regular exercise regimen could ward off muscle loss even better. In their experiment, they put 24 male participants on bed rest for 70 days. Some of them were given testosterone supplements, others a placebo, while a control group just stayed in bed the entire time.

The researchers found — unsurprisingly — that muscle formation was far more pronounced in the group that exercised. And the testosterone supplements, in a result that's unlikely to surprise the bodybuilder community, further enhanced the muscle growth.

## Musclenauts

Previous research has found that living in space could have negative effects on health including [bone loss](<https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/bone_loss.html>) and lack of access to effective medical treatment — and it could even change astronauts' bodies [on a genetic level](<https://futurism.com/living-in-space-proven-to-transform-humans-on-a-genetic-level>) as well.

All the more reason, according to the Galveston researchers, to get ripped in space.

"This new ability may allow scientists to personalize space medicine by designing specific exercise and/or hormone intervention programs for each astronaut on Earth before they embark on a long-term mission to space," Melinda Sheffield-Moore, senior author of [the paper](<https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217690>) that was published in the journal *PLOS One* today, said in [a statement](<https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/06/utmb-researchers-learned-how-to-better-combat-muscle-loss-during-space-flights/>).

**READ MORE:** [UTMB researchers learned how to better combat muscle loss during space flights](<https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/06/utmb-researchers-learned-how-to-better-combat-muscle-loss-during-space-flights/>) \[TMC\]

**More on living in space:** *[Organisms Survived on the Outside of the Space Station](<https://futurism.com/organisms-outside-space-station>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)