Misconceptions Caused By The Astronauts In Space

NASA has always had the best equipment available to them when training their astronauts to live in a reduced gravity environment. Now their equipment is being used to help treat and prevent many different sports injuries. The Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill is being implemented in many rehabilitation centers for use as sports injury therapy.

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.

As the fiery pillar of smoke climbed ever faster towards the night sky, I stood mouth agape at age five as I watched the launch of the Discovery Space Shuttle in Cape Canaveral, birthing my fascination with the depths of space. At age eighteen, my sense of purpose was clearer than ever in a high school classroom while watching footage of the spacewalk mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, an inspiration for me to pursue higher education in engineering with aspirations of becoming an astronaut. By age twenty three, I had been working at my first full time job as an engineer for the Department of Defense for nearly a year when I unexpectedly failed a flight physical due to minor, yet untreatable, health conditions. Now, realizing that my chances of becoming an astronaut are beyond my control, my reasoning for undertaking graduate work is to enable myself to contribute to a field that ultimately helps others do the things their bodies keep them from doing. I want to help put those people back in control of doing the things they dream to do.

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

Some people think that space exploration has no values, but according to John Kennedy “ So research in space medicine holds the promise of substantial benefit for those of us who are earthbound.” This evidence shows that people may think that space exploration doesn’t have values but it could tremendously help us with medical research. JFK made another valid point stating that “ Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome.” This information shows that it may become difficult at times and that may make people want to quit but that should make them strive to get better and get the job

To be specific, the hip protectors have been constructed to divert or absorb the energy of the fall. The hip

I was a curious boy. I was born and raised in Nashville TN alongside my older sister. Ever since I was seven, I’ve strived to be an astronaut and explore the expansions of space. After World War III, the United States rebooted their space program, with the funding and resources at an all time high. On the eve of my ninth birthday, I, along with the rest of the world, received the news that One of Jupiter’s moons was reached and prepared for colonization, marking the second space body fit to be home to humans after Mars. Graduating high school with a perfect record, I set my sights on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to jumpstart my career as a NASA Astronaut. Years past, Degrees were acquired, and preparations were made. Through the

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

In the early 1970’s, NASA’s Ames Research Center funded a development project designed to create a substance that could help relieve astronauts of the incredible g-forces experienced during lift-off. They believed that one of the key secrets to reducing g-forces on the body was to use a foam material that could conform to each person’s shape and hold this conformity. While a foam mold of each astronaut’s body shape could accomplish this, any movement would take a person out of this position and create incorrect pressure points against the body. Instead, they created a new foam material that was visco-elastic and therefore able to conform to a person’s shape, but then come back to a normal shape once pressure was removed from the foam. This could allow an even distribution of pressure or body weight over the entire surface of the foam, but quickly adapt to any movements of the body.

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.

According to Ed Regis, who wrote for The New York Times, "Your bone mass wastes away, your teeth become more susceptible to cavities, your body's muscles, including your heart, and even the small muscles that control your eye movements, atrophy and lose mass, and your immune, digestive, vascular and pulmonary systems function at impaired levels" (Regis). All these harmful things that can happen to astronauts and they are still willing to travel. It would be very unfortunate to have the astronauts go through terrible things listed above. It is not a great idea to

Ever since the first man traveled from Earth, spacesuits have played an essential part of an astronaut’s job. For decades, these suits have allowed humans to travel to and work in space. What many people may not know is that spacesuits have changed drastically over time. As scientists have challenged themselves to improve upon space missions, an astronaut’s spacesuit has changed to allow such ventures to be possible.

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].

People may float in lower gravity. There is gravity in space, just a very small amount. The planets are being shifted slightly by the gravity of each other planet. The earth keeps the moon in orbit by using inertia and gravity at the same time. The sun is the same, it uses it large amount of gravity and all the planet inertia to hold them in an orbit. Everything is held in place by the sun, but also the galaxy is held in place by a black hole in the center of the galaxy.

Humans are planning more space missions to Mars and deeper into the solar system. These manned missions require longer periods of time in space than any human has ever spent, as well as traveling farther from Earth’s protection than ever before. There has been very little research conducted regarding the effects of prolonged space travel on the human body. This paper examines how space travel will likely alter bodily functions. The evolution of life on Earth means that humans are adapted and specialized to live and function in Earth’s environment. The environment of open space presents hazards such as: solar radiation, microgravity, and extreme isolation. Prolonged exposure to these hazards could result in cardiovascular issues, cancers, cellular disruption, decreased bone density, osteoporosis, psychological issues, and more. It is important for scientists to research these hazards and their effects on the human body further so as to find solutions and ways to combat the negative outcomes.