Effects Of Long Term Space Flight

It has become such an iconic idea, that most if not all children in the last 60 years have thought that they would be alive to see the expedition, if not be part of it themselves. Of course, space travel is not a simple there and back scenario. As seen in the American Apollo program, there are many places throughout a mission where things can and most defiantly will go wrong with technology. In addition, there are inevitably even more challenging obstacles for a mission to face once they get into space. These challenges include loss of muscle, bone, and suppression of the human immune systems and over time we have found that these bodily effects seem to become progressively worse the longer an astronaut travels through space. Before we even begin discussing when we should attempt land manned space missions on other planets, we need a better understanding of the effect of long term space travel and occur in the first place and find ways to combat them so that prolonged space travel is not destructive to the human

One of the main causes of change in the human body is space is the lack of gravity because the body no longer needs to support its weight [1]. This leads not only to muscle loss but the loss of bone tissue as well [1]. Experiments were conducted on rats and some rats lost one third of muscle in particular areas after only seven to ten days [2]. Another experiment found that bone at certain areas was dissolving around 1-2% a month in astronauts [2]. After longer periods, this can jeopardize missions if the astronauts do not have enough muscle or their bones are not strong enough to move safely [2]. In order to prevent muscle and bone loss, NASA is using osteoporosis drugs and exercise [1]. Exercises include an hour of cardio and an hour of weightlifting everyday [2]. The exercise sends signals to the body to build muscle and bone, which resulted in astronauts returning with around the same amount of bone that they had before the mission [1]. Even with exercise, many astronauts are fairly weak when they return, some having trouble to walk [2].

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

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. 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. 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.

For starters, muscles weaken and bones grow brittle.Certain parts of cells shorten during life time, adding to aging. But In space, those cells shorten way quicker, possibly because of radiation. Scientists are investigating potential fixes.Without gravity, astronauts lose muscle mass. Running on a treadmill helps keep muscles, Including the heart, strong. Crews work out for two hours a day--with bungee cords tethering them to gym equipment.Fluids in the body move upward toward the head, distorting the shape of the eyes. To prevent this, astronauts wear negative-pressure pants to pull fluids back down.Radiation in space tends to damage microorganisms in the stomach that aid digestion. Eating a lot of fruits and veggies can help.With no weight to support, bones lose calcium and grow frail in space. Resistance exercises and taking vitamin D supplements help keep bones strong.NASA,NVIDIA, AND MIT’S SPACE SYSTEMS LABORATORY helped each other create a realistic Martian world called “THE MARS 2030 EXPERIENCE,” It is a project which has maintained a reputation of astronomical accuracy and aims to show where we are in moving towards mankind’s next history date.NASA’s collaboration with other space agencies in china and russia as regard to mission to mars. Firms in spain, israel, and india are lending help to NASA for taking up Propulsion systems, spacecraft, radars, satellite components, payload developments and many more things.Safety procedures for an emergency are always in preperation for example;Fire on a space station is one of the most significant dangers to astronauts. The SAFFIRE experiment will enable NASA to investigate fire detection, advanced fire extinguishing methods, and post-fire clean up. This type of technology demonstration and scientific experimentation will be vital for the development of systems that will eventually fly to Mars. NASA team will examine two

Long term exposure in space poses multiple threats to astronauts who are tasked to complete high risk and reward missions. Some of the most prominent threats include loss of muscle mass, decrease in bone density, and weakening of the immune system. Other dangerous potential effects are alteration in circadian rhythms and exposure to radiation. Each effect either has current treatments, or are currently being researched to discover more effective forms to combat the potential dangers they pose.

There are different types of ionizing radiation, including gamma rays and x-rays, which have been known to cause cancer. Additionally, because x-rays can kill living cells, when improperly used they can cause severe burns, cancer, leukemia, and cataracts. They can speed aging, reduce immunity to disease, and bring about disastrous changes in the reproductive cells.

“Mars is there, waiting to be reached.” This is a quote by Buzz Aldrin, an astronaut on Apollo 11 along with Neil Armstrong, that explains a global interest with the unknown and especially humans traveling to outer space, more specifically: Mars. But the same question is asked over and over again by scientist all over the world:”How do we get there”? This question has been mainly contemplated since 1969 and even sooner for some groups. Most of the ideas brought to the national aerospace agencies are related to building a better space-ship or stronger engines. But the achilles heel of all of these plans are the same two things, cost and efficiency. Currently, sending four people to Mars is an estimated at six billion U.S Dollars which many countries are not willing or able to spend. This estimate is also conservative assuming everything is on time,budget, and in good working order. Human stasis in no way is a mean of transportation, but instead a cost efficient way astronauts. Human stasis

The current (2016) record holder for the longest continuous spaceflight is Valeri Polyakov at 438 days, or 14 months [1]. The purpose of this mission was to test the effect of micro-gravity environments similar to those on a journey to mars. Upon Polyakov’s return, his physical and overall mental condition were deemed stable. Due to acclimation times, it was plausible that a 3 year mission to mars would have no hazardous mental effects upon crew [2].

Our atmosphere serves to protect humans from incoming space radiation by serving as buffer. The atmospheric gas molecules absorb the energy through photo dissociation, photo ionization, and scattering. These mechanisms prevent most of the incoming energy from outer space from ever reaching human civilization on ground level. However, any astronaut automatically exposes him or herself to more dangerous radiation by either leaving the atmosphere or going to an upper level of the

It is know that while being on bed rest, immobilized, and non-weight bearing for a prolong period of time, not only do our muscles atrophy but our cartilages become unhealthy and weak. Muscles act to stabilize and dispute forces across joints, with prolong unloading the loss of muscles mass and strength can contribute to joint injury and early degenerative joint changes (Ploutz-Snyder et al., 2014). OA of the knee is common in women because of the loss of estrogen’s anabolic effect on cartilage after menopause. Articular cartilage health is impacted by the quality of the underlying subchondral bone and evidence suggest that osteopenia of the bone contributes to cartilage degeneration (Ploutz-Snyder et al., 2014). Since the cartilage is damage it releases inflammatory components, which in turn leads to bone loss. We know that calcium and vitamin D play a role in calcium balance and bone metabolism. During flight astronauts receive very little sunlight and therefore have low calcium intake and vitamin D deficiency. Supplementations can be taken but this can increase the risk of osteoporosis because it does not counteract the increase in bone resorption and decrease in bone formation (Iwamoto, Takeda, & Sato, 2005). An intervention to prevent bone loss and joint injury would be a progressive strengthening and weight-bearing exercises. This will not only help the surrounding muscles get stronger

Finding out how the physiological changes in the astronauts while in space can affect a space mission.

And before they are chosen to be candidates they have to compete against thousands of other applicants”(Koerth-Baker 155). After being approved to fly an astronaut is finished training. If that astronaut is chosen to take a trip to Mars they have to take a humongous trip through space. “Mars would require a six-month journey to the planet, an 18-month stay and a six-month trip back” (Daniels, 1). Not only is the journey to Mars massive, it also contributes to many major health problems.

For my sci-fi paper, the main technology and science concept that is going to be explained is the effect of long term space flight. According to my idea of composition of the science fiction story, I am going to write about a team of astronauts who fly to the outer solar system and try to find a planet that might have lives besides the Earth. Obviously, they will have lots of difficulties. At the very beginning, they will need to fly through the solar systems. They will probably meet different space weathers and some of them may have damage on the space flights. After group work, they finally get out of the solar system and continue their long trip. It is sure that they cannot bring all the food they need for the trip from the Earth. For this