Matthew Chun
ESS 102
Research Paper
Effect of Long Term Space Flight 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. Our knowledge of the long term space flight's effects on the human body is still limited, but we do have quite a bit of research done on the short term effects, which is necessary to know before considering the long term effects. These effects include but are not limited to blood
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Most of these effects are caused by the lack of a gravitational force on the body. When the human body is suspended in zero gravity, our bodies begin to adjust to its current environment. The human body begins to ache and shrink because our muscles would not be put to use as much. That would be the most obvious change, followed by lack of cleanliness due to limited supplies. Deeper into the body though, blood circulation also begins to change. On Earth, our circulation works against gravity to make sure that all of our blood doesn't pool to our legs. In space, our bodies no longer have to counter the force of gravity so for a short time the upper extremities of the body swell (which for some causes space sickness) until the circulatory system adjusts itself to zero gravity. Those that do experience a form of space sickness, which is about 40% of astronauts, may feel nausea, vomit, have headaches, and dizziness until the body adapts [1]. When the body's circulatory system adapts to zero gravity, the heart does not need to work nearly as hard, which causes the heart to decrease in size over …show more content…
Sleep and performance are negatively impacted while an astronaut is in space, and that can be due to many factors. The lack of a 24 hour cycle and being cooped up in a small work space every day can impact a researchers ability to perform well in space, but measures such as improved lighting and scheduling are being worked on as this is a more controllable effect of space travel [3]. And upon arriving back to a destination with gravity, may it be Earth or some other planet in the future, the body would struggle to maintain balance and must readjust itself. We have a complex set of neural circuits that allows us to keep balance, stabilize vision, and maintain orientation in terms of location and direction. Our brains receive and interpret information from our many sense organs, especially in the eyes, inner ear, and muscles and joints. When exposed to zero gravity, the human's informational patterns change. Astronauts early on in the mission can experience disorientation, space motion sickness, and a loss of their
The Standing Male Figure stands in an enclosed glass case in the Los Angeles Art Museum. Not a very descriptive name for an artifact with very minimalistic information about it. The display only described it as the Standing Male Figure from 700-600 BCE made of limestone and found in the small island country of Cyprus. Cyprus at the time was ruled by the Assyrian Empire until its fall in 609 BCE. The piece is estimated to be during the Greek Geometric Period and the Greek Archaic Period, but can be compared to some Greek art during the Greek Archaic Period, like the Kouros. The Standing Male Figure of the 7th to 8th Century could be the Cypriot take on Archaic Greek Art.
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.
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
In March of 1974, while drilling a well, a work brigade of farmers discovered a subterranean chamber nearby the royal tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor of China (Encyclopedia Britannica). The superstitious old women of the village believed that the digging would disturb the Earth God. Therefore, due to these spiritual beliefs, they did not report the discovery right away. Eventually, archeologists came to Xi’an in droves to study and extend the digs. This led to the uncovering of three vast pits to the east of the burial tomb. In these pits, chariots, weapons and over 7,000 terracotta soldiers and horses were unearthed (Roberts p. 25). After extensive research, historians and archeologists concluded these terracotta soldiers
The first reason exploration is worth the risk is medical research. Medical research is very important and John F. Kennedy couldn’t have explained it better. Stated in Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center “Examinations of the astronaut’s physical, and mental, and emotional reactions can teach us more about the differences between normal and abnormal.” This evidence shows that space exploration could help us tell the difference between normal and anomalous. Another thing that Kennedy greatly stated in Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center was “About the causes and effects of disorientation, about changes in metabolism which could result in extending the life span.” So this evidence shows that space exploration could help us extending the human
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
Three main clusters that are developed under this idea of space exploration is the benefits that are gained, ethical code and what it means with regard to the future of the human race. In this paper I will talk about what major projects are being worked on and who will benefit from these. This will also include what laws of space are and ethical code. This will also identify the differing viewpoints on space exploration and whether the big picture is worth the small steps being taken as to advancements in space technology and sciences.
Missions to space pose a great risk on astronauts. Space exploration risks human life. Staying in a spacecraft is not easy, the conditions are harsh, and making the survival during space travel is a challenge. The effects of radiation on the body and bone loss are all a risk that you must take to go and explore in space. According to the website NASA, “The human body is
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
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
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 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
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.
Research by the space program into the medical sciences affects all people. NASA is currently running experiments aimed at improving our quality of life and life expectancy. For instance, the Visual Sciences Department is working on a premise that the weightlessness of space would have a positive effect on the retinas of the human eye, causing less blindness and poor eyesight in humans by negating the pull of gravity. (Vision 1) The Department of Immunology has a theory that the human immune system is strongly influenced by environmental factors such as pollution, and space living would increase the strength and immunity of humans. (Immune 1) Perhaps the largest area of study at this time is from the bone and calcium studies, relating bone loss to gravity, and noting how bones respond to weightlessness. (Calcium 1) These projects, along with countless others currently being studied, will have a lasting effect on humankind.