Male US astronauts had higher estimated life expectancy
Between ages 30 and 70, male astronauts’ estimated life expectancy exceeded the 2022 US general population’s by approximately five to seven years.
Limit: Medical selection favors healthier astronauts, unlike the general population used for comparison
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study examined 299 male US astronauts selected between 1959 and 2021, using mortality records through 2022. Those records included 69 deaths. Researchers used modeled and observed death rates to estimate remaining life expectancy at different ages. They compared those estimates with 2022 US general population values.
The astronauts had survival advantages at all ages. Their estimated life expectancy exceeded the general population’s by approximately five to seven years between ages 30 and 70. At age 50, estimated remaining life expectancy was 36.7 years, compared with 29.1 years in the general population. The authors interpreted the findings as evidence of the effectiveness of medical selection.
Why it matters
The work addresses whether rigorous medical screening identifies people with unusually long survival, a question relevant to interpreting health risks across astronauts’ lifespans.
Caveats
An observational comparison with the general population cannot establish how spaceflight affected survival. The analysis excluded female astronauts because follow-up and observed deaths were insufficient.
The paper
Astronaut life expectancy and the limits of general population comparisons
University of Central Florida; Mortality Research & Consulting, Inc. (United States)
NPJ Microgravity, Jun 8, 2026, Open access
