The Risks Of Long Distance Human Spaceflight

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

Though it may sound shocking, space travel is extremely dangerous. Many astronauts fear complete isolation in space, and in The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney is abandoned on Mars after a failed mission. However, isolation in space is not the most dangerous threat for astronauts. Many other astronauts have dealt with terrorizations from space debris, leaky suits, and launches and re-launches. Though The Martian does have a successful ending, many other space flights have not been as successful.

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.

In the year 2048 a segment of the United States population (about four million people) attempted to overthrow the government through acts of terrorism. The US government was able to stop the threat, but now they have four million people to deal with. In response a decision was made to send these people to Mars to start a colony. To do this advancements were made in nuclear power to propel the shuttles to Mars, and also technology was developed to allow for humans to survive on Mars for an indefinite amount of time.

On July 20, 1969, outside our Earth in the cold, and darkness of space, the first humans landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Ever since the moon landing the space program took off, through failure and success we discovered things, advanced our technology and more. Learning from previous mistakes and making sure that they did not happen again. The space program has allowed for the world to grow in technology, unite different people, and teach people about the world we live in. Since the exploration of space has greatly benefited the world with advanced technology and knowledge, along with more cooperation between countries, I believe that the space program should continue.

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

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.

The topic of my Sci-fi paper is going to be about the creation of a colony on mars in the future that utilizes water on mars and fusion reactions for energy that are powered by the mining of helium on the moon. The three definitions that I will include about space propulsion and orbital mechanics are the effect of long term space flight, antimatter, and space elevators. The three definitions that I will include about sun and space weather are aurora, solar wind, and the magnetosphere. The three definitions that I will include about planetary characteristics are the atmosphere of Mars, the atmosphere of Saturn, and the composition of the moon.

The space shuttle Columbia disaster lead NASA to finally change their culture and realize that no matter how small a threat may be perceived, it cannot be overlooked. The Columbia disaster was the second disaster in NASA’s history, that a small component, which was not adequately tested, inevitably caused a chain reaction that lead to the disintegration of the space shuttle leaving no survivors. The first disaster was Challenger in 1986. The Columbia disaster investigations lead NASA to look further than just procedures and into the culture behind the entire space shuttle program. “The recognition of human spaceflight as a develop-mental activity requires a shift in focus from operations and meeting schedules to a concern for the risks involved.” [1 p.208]

In addition, there are astronauts that have to waste money and gas just to fly up there and back it is going to be bad if something goes

The movie Gravity, a winner of 7 Academy awards, produced by Warner Brothers Pictures’, shows just how dangerous space can be. Dr. Ryan Stone is a bio-medical engineer who is on her first mission into space. Soon after taking off, Houston commands her and her fellow astronaut, Matt Kowalski, to abort the expedition. Their colleagues back home have warned them that a ton of debris is headed their way because of a Russian missile strike. The debris hits their station and causes a lot of problems for them. They quickly realize that it is too late to return home and that they have to find a way to survive with the clock ticking down. Losing connection with Mission Control is one of the many problems the two astronauts faced. Although this movie may have many events in space that are scientifically accurate, some events are completely inaccurate.

Astronauts who are in space for long periods of time face many dangers to their physical and mental health. Long periods of weightlessness can weaken bone structures, facilitate loss of muscle mass and dampen the immune response. [1] On top of that, astronauts in space are confined to small enclosed living quarters and have to see the same people everyday. However, NASA, ESA and other organizations have studied these problems and have come up with methods to mitigate these hazards.

It takes time and planning for figuring out what meals are going to be sent into space. There is a specialist in NASA for the food that is sent to the astronauts before leaving. They make sure the food has the right amount of nutrients. There are also people in NASA that

Thomas, Susan. "Gold Rush in Space? Asteroid Miners Prepare, but Eye Water First."Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/21/us-space-mining-asteroids-idUSBRE9AK0JF20131121>.

For over three decades now since astronauts first explored started space exploration to the moon or to the earth’s orbit, they have been experiencing radiations in space that comprises of secondary particles that are produced as a result of collision of heavy ions and high energy protons with tissue and the space craft. However, once the astronauts return, they are faced with uncertainties as a result of exposure in the projection of the associated risks, and the effects that later come as a result of space radiations. This paper examines the exposure of radiations to astronauts who have been involved in a space exploration mission into the International Space Station. As a result of the damaging effect of the radiations in space nowadays, astronauts have been limited to the low Earth orbit that is shielded from the galactic cosmic rays and solar particles. The radiations are thought to cause cancer risks and risk of exposure induced death to astronauts. These effects coupled with others such as the lethality of the ionizing radiation and compounded risks from circulatory diseases have been a major impediment to space exploration as a result of radiations, and this has limited the duration of astronauts into space, while confining them into the international Space station in the low Earth orbit.