The mysteries and unknowns presented by space exploration may seem more hopeful than the ugliness and sorrows oft times thrust upon mankind’s earthbound shoulders and vulnerable hearts. Interest in space exploration is newly rocket-fueled. NASA continues to spend billions of dollars on space research, as private industry makes huge investments in safe travel to and from outer space. Besides the serious plans of Elon Musk to colonize Mars, companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing technologies to enable private human access to space. Blue Origin aims to take tourists to space by April 2019. Long-duration spaceflight results in musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, and sensorimotor problems, however, prevention and treatment of which need to be resolved for successful forays into space. Dr. Jeff Willey of Wake Forest School of Medicine has received NASA funding to study musculoskeletal changes in mice after long duration habitation on the International Space Station (ISS). The focus of the Jeff Willey Lab is to characterize the cause and extent of long-term musculoskeletal injuries caused by radiation therapy, a standard of care for numerous cancers. As cancer survivorship improves, preventing late treatment-induced complications is becoming a great concern. Severe musculoskeletal complications are among the most frequent occurring and severe of these late complications. Space radiation and microgravity provide unique opportunities to develop cancer-treatment specific animal models, and test preventative measures that hopefully will translate to the clinic.