Space Physiology and Medicine in the Exploration Era: the IAA Virtual Institute of Space Life Sciences and medicine, published in March 2016, 21 pages. In view of future space exploration goals, the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) space physiology and medicine community strongly advocates increasing the available opportunities for life sciences research in space and on the ground, including research in medicine, physiology, biology, neurobehavioral and radiation effects, and concurrently increasing efforts to better link the results of life sciences research on Earth and in space. Such a strengthening of the ties between groundbased and space research will be beneficial for both parties by improving health care on Earth and supporting human exploration of space. It will also substantially increase the support for human spaceflight in the general population, as the results can be directly applied to normal ground-based medicine. These goals can be achieved by the following actions: • Strengthen the links between space and terrestrial life sciences; • Strengthen international collaboration in space life sciences; • Strengthen joint research on fundamental questions in the life sciences; • Maintain the opportunities to study human physiology and molecular as well as animal model systems in microgravity and the radiation environment in orbit by extending the lifetime of the International Space Station and through direct collaborations with governments and companies, thus providing extended opportunities for studying long-term human adaptation to microgravity; • Perform human exploration step-by-step with sound scientific tasks for the astronauts; • Consider relevant scientific research beyond the scope of the International Space Station, in line with the goals set out under the ISECG (2013) Global Exploration Road Map, to undertake planetary exploration. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the IAA Life Sciences Community advocates the formation of a “Virtual Institute of Space Life Sciences and Medicine (VISLSaM)”. The basic concept of this institute is described in the current study.