Abstract: Cell and animal studies conducted onboard the International Space Station and during the Shuttle program have provided extensive data illustrating bone degenerative responses to mechanical unloading in microgravity. Specifically CDKN1a/p21, an inhibitory modulator of cell cycle progression, is upregulated in osteoprecursor cells of the femur during 15-day spaceflight, suggesting that microgravity can block stem cell-based tissue regenerative process at the level of progenitor proliferation an…