Effects Of Long Term Space Flight

My science fiction paper will describe the struggles and accomplishments of a future mission to mars with the goal of producing a habitable base on the surface for extended stay and experimentation, written in a series of journal entries by the crew. The mission will be a long term journey, having used research to compensate for the effects of space travel on the human body to allow for a longer term residence, spurred by the growing involvement of private industry growth in space travel. As this mission will be primarily based on taking scientific research, the major concepts addressed throughout the logs will be blackbodies, coronal mass ejections, magnetospheres, electromagnetic propulsion, solar sails, the Hohmann transfer, the Martian atmosphere, Martian poles, and the health effects of microgravity. The following research paper will address the latter concept, microgravity health effects, in order to accurately depict the travel conditions of the crew members.

Our bodies are not built for space. The exposure to radiation can cause cataracts, brain damage, and cancer. Weightlessness can cause muscle mass loss, bone mass loss, and bad circulation. Author of "Humans may dream of traveling to Mars, but our bodies aren't built for it," Charles Wohlforth and Amanda Hendrix explains "Doctor-astronauts working on the International Space Station in 2009 also discovered that living in weightlessness can damage the optic nerve. In the absence of gravity, cerebral-spinal fluid stops circulating. On voyages of more than a year, that could lead to blindness or contribute to dementia," [3]. This is a big problem when it comes to space travel, and should be NASA's biggest priority.

This all comes from the research on Shuttle mission STS-47 and is used as a reference to bone and muscle loss in space

Tristan’s long-term dream to traverse space becomes a reality when he is chosen to pilot a crew of eighty Alliance personnel on a space ship to Mars. “We seldom see in the night sky the dramas that pass us by.” The trip to the red planet leads him on a dangerous and taxing pursuit to make the first claim on ‘treasures’ still buried in the Martian soil: that could steer him, and his team members on to ground breaking discoveries of the century! Due to the painfully long duration of the trip to Mars, the crew is expected to swap roommates every twenty-eight days, this according to Admiral Thomas Booth has to do with “primordial body rhythms and lunar timing” thus is deemed necessary as it will help build anticipation and contest boredom amongst the crew. This, however, leads to an interesting turn of events. The team still finds that the odds are stacked against them. What with the hazards of space threatening their livelihoods and mission, will they all make it to Mars alive?

How long would a “long term” space flight be? According to our records, the longest that human has been off Earth is almost 438 days, and it is the mission operated by Russian space station Mir. (Beings not Made for Space, Kenneth Chang, 2014) Long-term space flight requests that astronauts have to be exposed to the real space environment, which includes microgravity, the significant increase in radiation, variation in temperature and space view. The major impacts that I will be talking about are microgravity and space radiation. Due to these changes of space environment from that of the Earth, astronauts will face the changes on their body and health, some of the changes would be negative. For example, astronauts will see the significant changes in their body; their whole bodies will expand, the mass of their bones and muscles would lose, and some of them might have farsighted eyes. There will also be increase in risk of Alzheimer’s disease, damage in immune system and destroys of microbiomes. To build a better space environment, scientists have been working hard to find out what is causing the health issues and ways to solve them. They have done well-known researches such as “Twins Study” between Mark and Kelly Scott. The latest technology that involved is called artificial gravity; it is considered desirable for long-term space flight as well as human habitat in space.

Among all of the wildest things mankind has dreamed of, traveling among the stars has been among the top. Space travel has rightfully been romanticized into a fantastic voyage of discovery and adventure, but there is much more to it than what the movies show. Every detail must be considered when bringing space flight into reality, and that includes the dangers and how to safely dive into deep space.

The effects of travelling in space on the human body is a subject that is currently being researched increasingly in-depth, with many unanswered questions. There is little data on long term exposure to conditions in space, and a limited range of data based on the restraints of which demographics have been exposed

When astronauts go on to a long-term space mission and remain in the reduced-gravity environment for a long time, there are some potential harmful influence to the bones, which include bone lose, accelerated loss of bone minerals and increased chances for renal stones. It is also notifiable that reduced-gravity environment can, to some extent, give rise to possible post mission bone fractures. There are some evidence and background to prove that there is strong correlation between space flight and bone abnormality. First, it is noticed that bone loss accelerated for an astronaut. The amount of bone loss for an astronaut in a single month, which is about 1 to 1.5 percent, is equal to that for a postmenopausal women who did not receive

Over the past few months people all over the world have applied for a mission to go to the red planet, Mars. Four lucky people will be chosen to go live on Mars. They will have to endure eight to ten years of brutal training. In addition, their every movement will be watched and scrutinized. After all of this, these few people will be the first to live and to die on Mars. Going to Mars is a dangerous mission. The smallest mistake can lead to ultimate mission failure. Even the tiniest of errors can cause engine failure, cosmic radiation contamination, or a shortage of power.

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut recently completed a year in space as part of NASA’s “Twin Study” (Gushanas). The University of Hawaii at Mānoa sponsors a Mars simulation facility in a desolate region of Hawaii (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation). The European Space Agency (ESA) directed a 520-day long simulation throughout 2010 and 2011 meant to closely match conditions on a long-term Mars mission (Directorate of Human

Some of the astronauts experienced visual impairment as well. Overall, Strickland (2017) indicates in the article that the overall findings suggest long-term space flights cause an increase in cerebrospinal fluid, narrowing of the central sulcus, and an upward shift of the brain. However, further research must be done to determine the duration and significance of these changes. This research on the brains of astronauts is crucial because as humans grow more and more technologically advanced and plan for further space exploration and possible colonization of other planets, it is important to understand the possible effects space flight can have on our brains and bodies.

We’ve all heard about the rigorous mental and physical tests that astronaut candidates must go through in order to be considered to be sent into space; but what is the methodology behind them? What most laymen’s’ overlook when they think ‘Astronaut’ is the extreme physical and mental taxation that is associated with space flight. Astronauts will have to endure long-term isolation, monotony, limited mobility and close living quarters amongst each other for months and potentially years at a time. This can lead to many health issues; the sanitary conditions of the spacecraft must be impeccable. Mentally, these extenuating circumstances can lead to depression,

Once the astronauts land on Mars, their survival will become an experiment. No one has done this before and the astronauts literally have to make food and oxygen from rocks. Life support equipment could fail. Issues might occur that scientists back on Earth haven't even thought of yet. Radiation such as cosmic rays and energy particles from the sun may effect the astronauts. Both types of radiation can severely damage the astronauts DNA, increasing their chance of getting cancer. In addition to, the high risk of travel will decrease the survival chances. During the launch to space the astronauts will be strapped down tightly in a rocket with so much power that it might explode. The rocket might hit space debris and might veer into the sun or in the middle of deep space on a small malfunction. Five point eight percent of space missions have failed. When missions fail, it is often due to crash landings. Since Mars is so far away, and no one has ever been there before, the chances of failure are increased. The Mars One mission is very dangerous, therefore scientists should not try to send humans to

At the moment, astronauts’ next goal in manned missions is to try to figure out the most efficient and safe way in succeeding in a manned mission to Mars. However, in order to achieve such a mission, astronauts must completely understand the additional perils that accompany adventures into space of the length that would be required for such a trip. With experiments that have been completed and are in the process of being done, scientists are able to better understand the many risks that contribute to the danger of such prolonged missions, in hope of finding solutions that will make a mission to Mars possible. Although there are many risks that a human will take when remaining in space for such a long period of time, this paper will

Space travel is becoming more commonly talked about and could affect future generations, but it is important to know the effects on one’s body during space travel in order to make adjustments for the future to ensure the safety of the astronauts. I am hypothesizing that if humans are exposed to the conditions of space for a prolonged period of time, then calcium levels will drop in the body and bone loss will occur. Calcium, along with other hormones, are important for maintaining strong bones.