Conrad Dudziak
Erika Harnett
ESS 102 AC
20 October 2015
The Hazards of Space Travel for the Human Body
In the year 2042, aerospace engineers continue to struggle with the challenge of a manned mission to mars. Biomedical complications disrupt any advancements in the effort, as astronaut safety is considered the most fundamental aspect of a successful mission. In order to study the effects of weightlessness and radiation in a deep space environment, NASA launches a government funded space station into high earth orbit. The astronaut’s medical health is studied over a six month period, as their bodies adapt to the low gravity environment and radiation becomes a crucial concern.
Weightlessness and radiation exposure are two of the primary
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As an organism in a hostile environment, precautions must be made.
An astronaut must maintain peak physical health to ideally preform and adapt to a space environment. In order to minimize the extent of medical concerns, strict medical standards are established to guarantee the correct crew for the mission. Designed by surgeons and experts in aerospace medicine, the regulations mirrored those of the U.S Air force. Extensive consideration is taken in the categories of blood pressure, radiation exposure, hearing, dental health, and precise body composition. Annual medical certification examinations are conducted by flight medicine physicians. These exams insure that the crew is not only fit for space flight, but also for training. Crew members are given a supporting exam at launch, as well as two days after landing (Risin). The information found in these last minute exams is used to analyze the effects of space travel on the astronauts.
Only 7 missions in American history included biomedical objectives as a goal amongst each operations highest priorities. As of May 1961 to May 1963, Project Mercury was conducted to assess the ability for man to survive in an environment outside of earth. The endeavor completed four orbital missions and two sub-orbital flights, the longest of which lasted 34 hours. Although the returning health conditions of the astronauts
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.
As stated in “Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center”, lines 31-32 states, “Many Americans make the mistake of assuming that space research has no values here on earth.” Let’s take into account that not every exploration will end successfully. Sometimes they may even end fatally, but this does not mean that every mission will result in failure or death. As humans, we tend to make mistakes, but so often we are paranoid with the perception that taking a risk will always result in a tragic demise, that we can never actually reach our fullest potential due to our questionable “what ifs”.
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.
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.
Unable to be in full health whether be sick with a disease/ sickness or with a disability, can result in a poor quality life. New methods of curing diseases and new medicine techniques have already been made from space exploration and more breakthroughs are occurring benefiting the aesthetic part of society. Health and medicine have extensive impacts on the lives of everyone and research done by NASA and other space companies could improve the medicine and health we currently have. “Even as you read these words, there’s a world of research going on high over our heads- approximately 200-215 miles up. The international space station (ISS), which has been taking shape for much of the past decade, is an orbiting laboratory for many types of research” (“Space The New Medical Frontier”). Medical research has been going on in space since man has step foot into the atmosphere. The results of the on going research has brought the society new, better, more advanced medical field in which bring us a better healthier life. Currently, research has been ongoing for a few months and is going to continue for an entire year. This experiment, called the twin study, is going to see the effects of being in space for long periods of time. The twins Mark and Scott Kelly are going to be studied for the differences in molecular,
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.
In the first place, when you go to space it bothers your body. It makes you have high energy radiation which could lead to more dangerous things. It could also
A problematic issue is the matter of body mass or more specifically the bone density in space. Of course, space is bound to bring changes to the body and
Space programs have implanted exercise programs and diets for Astronauts to help deal with the effects of living in space.
There are the obvious dangers of outer space: the high-energy radiation, the lack of pressure in the vacuum and the severely low temperatures. These cause an abrupt death when encountered. However, there are other lethal repercussions that can leave a heavy toll on the body with much more gradual yet deleterious symptoms that have the potential to linger long after the trip. Some of these issues are the loss of muscle mass, bone microfractures and the reduction to the immune system. Because these problems cannot be solved by our current technology, astronauts must undergo safety measures that help combat these
We've all seen pictures of the beautiful blue globe of the Earth from space. Some of the first images were taken by NASA. Not only that,The International Space Station has been a huge step forward in the healing technology, and NASA has made millions of research projects to help us with our health. This research is going to show a few of the many things that NASA, with its knowledge helped us discover, and in some cases, to solve many human problems. They have contributed not only clearler and more extensive vews of space, but it also has helped with the problems and diseases that occur.
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.
This career requires extremely specific health standards each trainee must meet to become eligible to go on a mission. The space physical is extremely similar to the military flight physical except for a few differences. The vision of the trainee must have a visual acuity of 20/200, or must be correctable to 20/20 in each eye. For every crewmember, extensive amounts of medical test are run before take off due to the high-risk situations encountered in this career. A blood pressure of 140/90 is considered impeccable for anyone aspiring to achieve the status of an astronaut. However, any slight variation in this number is considered a medical