B1202 words1:34News Report American AccentPublished Jul 14, 2026 · Updated Jul 14, 2026

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Medical X-rays have been taken in space for the first time in history.

American scientists announced this breakthrough, which happened aboard a commercial spaceflight.

They believe this achievement marks a new era for astronaut health and safety during long space missions.

For more than forty years, ultrasound was the only imaging method that doctors could use in space.

However, ultrasound has important limitations because it requires special training and a sound wave medium.

As space missions become longer and travel deeper into the solar system, better medical tools are needed.

Doctor Sheyna Gifford, the lead researcher from Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, explained the challenge.

She said that traditional X-ray machines are very large and produce too much radiation.

Everything in space is constantly moving, so scientists believed that taking clear X-ray images in orbit was too difficult.

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The development of small, portable X-ray machines gave Doctor Gifford's team a new opportunity.

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In 2022, a flight crew with minimal medical training carried a portable X-ray device on a space mission.

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The crew was able to take successful medical images, which proved that X-rays can work in space.

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Doctor Gifford said that X-rays are fast, easy, and very valuable for diagnosing injuries and illnesses.

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Medical X-rays taken in space for the first time