空间环境是指远离地球表面的宇宙环境，它与地球表面环境有所不同，处于其中的动物细胞可能受到各种影响。空间环境中的主要因素包括空间辐射、极端温度、高真空、微磁场以及搭载动物细胞的航天器中的特殊环境——微重力环境。其中，对动物细胞影响最大的是空间辐射和微重力环境。空间辐射作用于动物细胞将直接造成其损伤，影响它的结构和功能；空间微重力条件下，动物细胞的结构、增殖和基因及蛋白质表达均发生明显变异，这些变化大多是适应性的，返回地球表面后能够很快恢复正常。

The space environment refers to an environment far away from the earth's surface and different in many respects from the surface of the earth, where animal cells will be influenced by all kinds of space factors, including mainly space radiation, extreme temperature, high vacuum, micro-magnetic field and the special environment in spacecrafts, namely, that of microgravity. Major factors affecting animal cells are space radiation and microgravity. Space radiation may damage animal cells and influence its structure and function. In the space microgravity environment, the structure, proliferation and the expression of genes and proteins will change, however, these changes are mostly adaptable and may disappear when the cells return to the surface of the earth.