Skip to main content

Space MED Program

UC Irvine's Space MED program is the first mission-based space medicine program in the nation.

UC Irvine Space MED (Medicine, Engineering & Design) is a four-year, mission-based medical school program in which medical students are taught principles of space medicine, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, biomedical engineering and human systems integration throughout their medical school training. The program combines didactic and experiential learning experiences to provide medical students with the strongest possible foundation in space medicine and prepares them for future clinical and research opportunities.

Meet the Program Directors

Our program directors are clinical professors and practicing physicians, who also work in the space industry. They leverage their clinical and research expertise to diversify and advance space medicine.

Clinical headshots of Ariana Nelson and Jonathan Steller
Headshot
"Becoming interplanetary starts with rockets and rovers but ends with people. To thrive beyond Earth, we must train physicians who dare to care where no one has cared before." -— Ariana Nelson, MD, Space MED Program Co-Director

News

Jonathan Steller standing arms crossed with a earth and astronaut graphic overlay that say: Medicine Meets Micro-gravity: Launching students into space-age careers

Oct 22, 2025 | The Anteater Alumni Magazine


Medicine Meets Micro-gravity

Headshots of Ariana Nelson and Jon Steller

Sep 18, 2025 | UC Irvine Health Affairs


UC Irvine Pioneers Space Medicine Education

Kaveri Curlin and Christopher Yang stand in front of a plane, doing the UCI "zot" sign with their hands.

May 27, 2025 | UC Irvine School of Medicine


Mission to Explore Space Medicine: COSMOS Rotation Takes Students to New Heights

View All News

Hero Image: Vast / "Introducing Vast: The Next Giant Leap"
Program Overview Image: Vast / "Haven-1 Final Design"