Extreme Environments as Accelerated Aging Models: Insights from Microgravity-Induced Muscle Loss

Abstract Aging is traditionally understood as a gradual, time-dependent decline in physiological function. However, certain extreme environments reproduce core features of aging on dramatically compressed timescales. Among these, microgravity represents a uniquely powerful model of accelerated biological decline, particularly in skeletal muscle, metabolism, and systemic regulation. This perspective proposes that microgravity should be understood not only as a stressor, but as an accelerated aging system, revealing core biological vulnerabilities that unfold over decades on Earth. By examining convergent mechanisms between microgravity-induced muscle loss and age-related sarcopenia, a systems-level framework emerges that has implications for therapeutics, diagnostics, and translational biology across both space and terrestrial medicine.