What happens when you go into space? You lose muscle and bone mass. I found that the astronauts set apart two and a half hours each day are devoted to fitness. If astronauts are not exercising they start losing the bone and muscle that they need. Bone and muscle loss mean decreased size and strength, and can reduce the ability to do the work that they have due the weakness. Once they land on Earth walking difficult by the lose of muscle. Muscle can be built back up with exercise, but when you lose bone is not easy to get back. In the Apollo mission there wasn't room for the exercise equipment that the space station has.
Tim O'Brien served as a sergeant in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. The year of 1946 heralded in a time of mistrust and scrutiny. It was during this short span of time, between the end of the Great War and the beginning of the Cold War, that Tim O'Brien was born . He was thrust into an era where nation scrambled against nation; where your best friend could be your greatest enemy tomorrow. O'Brien was pressed into serving in the U.S. Army when the Vietnam conflict escalated. His service inspired his writings, and his writings have inspired generations. O'Brien continued to pursue his studies after Vietnam; going to Harvard for graduate school. His writing career was launched with the novel, "If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me
While this is a deeply rooted concern for NASA, the organization plans to make progress in making human space travel safe and productive. In 2016, Former President Barack Obama wrote an article on CNN’s wire service with gargantuan hopes for the future generations of space travel to develop in the future. In the article entitled, “ America Will Take the Giant Leap to Mars”, Obama proposes that the United States will be capable of sending astronauts to Mars by the year 2030. To support his statement, he comments, “I’m excited to announce that we are working with our commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space”(Obama 1). Here, Obama is acknowledging the fact that astronauts have been, and are, affected by radiation and loss of gravity when exposed to “deep space” for long periods of time. He is also revealing that through years of research and development, the government is prepared to safely send America’s astronauts to other planets for the purpose of exploration and advances in many technological fields. Yes, astronauts’ health
But American presence in space is not just a power play; the scientific and technological benefits of space exploration remain its most invaluable quality. In the past, space initiatives have yielded countless meteorological benefits, including the prediction and management of hurricanes and other natural disasters. Surveillance, mass banking and communication, military intelligence, and environmental studies are all areas expanded through American space presence (Dubner n.p.). Not to mention the medical advances: Joan Vernikos, a member of the Space Studies Board of the National Academy and former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division, notes, “Studying humans living in the microgravity of space has expanded our understanding of osteoporosis and balance disorders, and has led to new treatments” (Dubner 13). Space travel has also aided in the invention of medical technology. The beneficiaries of instrumentation such as digital mammography, outpatient breast biopsy procedures, and the application of telemedicine to emergency care can thank manned space missions for their current implementation. For every dollar we spend on the space program, the U.S. economy receives about $8 of economic benefit, according to Hubbard, who also believes space travel “serves as a stimulus for children to enter the fields of science and engineering” (Dubner).
Space is one of the most researched and government funded fields internationally. Globally, researchers have been attempting to discover more about the universe far before Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957. NASA has launched over 100 flights to space, but one of the most recent flights is Expedition 47. This team has gone to microgravity to investigate spaceflight’s effect on the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neurovestibular systems in the human body. The crew members are also trying to discover how to make the workout equipment more practical and create more room for future space crews during long-duration missions. The Expedition 47 began on March 1, 2016 and will end on June 5, 2016. This three month long research expedition
As many already know the Earth is constantly pulling us in a downward direction, this of course includes our organs and bodily fluids like blood. The fact that our bodies do not constantly have trouble suppling blood to the brain is a miracle of biology known as a baroreceptor, a part of an artery that detects and keeps blood pressure constant to the upper half of the body (DeCampli, 1986). In space, the baroreceptors of the body work too well. In the absence of gravity, there is no need for baroreceptors but the body still tries to compensate for “gravity” and thus the upper half of the body has anywhere from 1/2- 2 L of blood which in turn leads to face swelling, loss of circulation in the legs, and an increase in urine to try and get rid of the bodies “excess” liquid (DeCampli, 1986). The problem is not so much during the trip as its aftereffects. Over time, the body actually stops compensating for gravity and when they get back to Earth, astronauts have to basically relearn to compensate (DeCampli, 1986) and deal with a heart that may have been enlarged from all the extra fluid in the torso (David, 1992). If there was a way to stops this from occurring in the first place, it would be of great benefit. Unfortunately, trying to exercise to promote greater circulation have not helped to reduce the blood imbalance (David, 1992). The added liquid to the upper body also affects the eye sight. As the brain has an
From 1961 to 1972, the government-funded organization NASA ran the Apollo program, which attempted to land humans on the Moon and bring them back to Earth safely. Of the program’s 16 successful flights, five flights landed men on the Moon and a total of twelve men walked on the Moon. Samples taken from the Moon’s surface paved the way for enormous discoveries and increased understanding about space, natural elements and our Moon’s composition. However, one aspect of discovery that the Apollo missions enabled was the discovery of the human body’s reaction to space and weightless environments.
There are still new discoveries being made all the time, especially with the length of time that astronauts are spending in space increasing. A revolutionary study, conducted by NASA will send one identical twin into space for a full year, while the other remains on Earth. Measurements will be taken of both twins before, during, and after the year, which will hopefully provide even more insight into exactly how prolonged stays in space affect the body. One specific experiment that will be done will involve giving each twin identical flu vaccines. This will allow researchers to study and compare their immune reactions [2]. Human space travel is important for the advancement of humankind and the furthering of our knowledge about space. Understanding how microgravity affects the body and finding solutions to keep people healthy in space are areas that have much work to be done, but are improving due to the dedication and hard work of researchers and astronauts
This experiment was called the “Twin Study”, because NASA had the perfect test subject to compare him to. His identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly. NASA was trying to find changes in bodily systems such as, the immune system, intestinal bacteria, and genetic expression. Also, they tested to see if astronauts would suffer from sleep deprivation and stress, and to see how their bodies would react to elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is what they found. NASA found that astronauts’ vision decreases as an effect of all bodily fluids shifting to the head. This is also why your head looks swollen in space. These astronauts are also subject to radiation because the station is not always protected from radiation. This causes astronauts’ hearts to shrink. Astronauts also experience bone and muscle loss in space. They lose about 1.5% of bone every month, which is about the same amount of bone an osteoporotic man and woman loses in a year. This is very important information to know, because a one way trip to Mars is at least 6-8 months. It is even longer if you want to come back (2½
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.
The short story “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story about an American soldier who is wounded in World War I. The character goes to a hospital for rehabilitation and meets other wounded soldiers. The mood of the story is one of despair. Setting, elements of futility in the plot, and isolation of the characters all contribute to the grim mood.
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,
Moving to a new house it’s exciting but moving to a new country it’s terrifying. That’s how I felt when I moved here to the states, terrified. Entering unknown land without knowing a sense of English can be very overwhelming at a young age. Leaving my family was definitely one of the hardest thing I’ve experienced because I couldn’t just drive back to visit them. Even though I was only 12 when I moved from Venezuela, that journey has helped me grow and have a better mindset. I get to see things differently and have a different look on life. I would say that it has definitely help me transition from childhood to adulthood. Because moving with new people, learning a new culture and language is something special yet so stressing. At times I find
Space is a place where no ground can be felt, sound can’t be heard, and every direction is endless darkness. There are people who spend their lives studying space and how it differs from Earth. With the help of experts from 15 nations, The International Space Station (ISS) has been built. The space station travels in our orbit at 17,500 miles per hour and orbits the earth every ninety minutes. The ISS gives scientists a better understanding of how life works in zero-gravity.
With space travel being a topic much looked at since the middle of the 20th century, it is only inevitable that man has already entered space and taken that step into space travel. However, even though man has done so before, it does not necessarily man should continue to do what can be done by the technological advantages of this age; robots. Having the ability to send exclusively robotic missions into space provides many advantages that a human accompanied mission could not also have claim to, one obvious variation being in the safety of a robotic mission versus a manned mission. Humans are fragile when it comes to being put into environments other than their own (Colwell & Britt, n.d.) and there are a lot of physical health setbacks. When in zero-g in space, human bodies face many changes such as a sudden height increase, and even face a weakening of the bones that can later lead to bones breaking much easier from even small accidents (“Manned or Unmanned?”, 2001). Humans also face the risk of being exposed to radiation when there is no atmosphere surrounding them to protect them (“Manned or Unmanned?”, 2001) and the temperatures of different planets and elements of space make it nearly impossible for a human to be able to travel to certain places (Colwell & Britt, n.d). Robots, however, do not face this kind of setback and are much more tolerant to the environment outside of earth’s atmosphere. Human lives are also at risk when in space, and can be lost very quickly due