The Negative Effects Of Zero Earthquavity On Humans

In order to fully understand the effects of microgravity and when they are present, it is important to know exactly what is meant by microgravity. Gravity is the attraction between two objects with mass and keeps us tethered in a way to the Earth’s surface (Dunbar). In orbit at 250 miles above the Earth’s surface gravity is still at 88%, and the Earth’s gravitational pull still has significance well outside of its atmosphere,

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.

The International Space Station is used for a galore of experiments. International and technological is the largest endeavor. It is a permanent laboratory up in space. Most of the time during experiments in space they will use gravity, pressure and temperature in a variety of experiments that they cannot do down on Earth.

This knowledge could be used to plan a manned mission to Mars or the construction of a base on the moon. But these justifications for the station are largely myths. Here are the facts, plain as potatoes: The International Space Station is not a platform for cutting-edge science. Unmanned probes can explore Mars and other planets more cheaply and effectively than manned missions can. And a moon colony would be a silly destiny.

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

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established on October 1, 1958 as a way “to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere…” (Garber). It originally served the purpose of national defense during the Cold War but soon became engaged in a space race with the Soviet Union. While the Soviet Union was the first nation to send man to space, the United States eventually won the ultimate race when the lunar module landed on the moon on June 20, 1969 (Garber). NASA continued to send man into space using the space shuttle designed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The International Space Station (ISS) was developed to conduct long term research and determine the effects of near weightlessness on the human body (Garber). Their plans include long term or even permanent

Humans and other species navigate by determining their current position and planning a course to a desired goal. Navigation normally occurs in the 1-g environments experienced on Earth, but a new environment was added as the Soviet Union and the United States competed for supremacy during the space race of the mid 20th century. Outer space posed many new problems, including the challenge of navigating in microgravity. The first human in space was Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, but the first reports of gravity-related problems surfaced with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo program during the 1960s and 70s (Homick, Lyndon, & Miller, 1975). With current plans for expanded space exploration, it

Scientists used as test subjects before the first astronauts went into space. According to Nasa.gov “ On June 11, 1948, a V-2 Blossom launched into space from White Sands, New Mexico carrying Albert I, a rhesus

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.

During the 60’s short term impacts of NASA surrounded the moon exploration programs. Such impacts were both negative and positive. With these missions being the first real interactions between humans and zero gravity space there was many discoveries, most discoveries were very basic. Some negative short term impacts was the fear of the Russians and communism that was created. This fear fueled the NASA programs for years. Funding was easy to get since taxes were increased with the nationwide fear of going to war. More short term impacts that astronauts soon found were the slight increase in height after being in a zero gravity environment. Other similar short term impacts were found by trial and error and some from

The effects of travelling in space on the human body is a subject that is currently being researched increasingly in-depth, with many unanswered questions. There is little data on long term exposure to conditions in space, and a limited range of data based on the restraints of which demographics have been exposed

Although, it is dangerous for the humans that go and explore space, as there are many things that can go wrong and there many dangers for astronauts in space, space exploration and the space program has lead to many advances in science, technology and more. In fact, the article “Benefits Stemming from Space Exploration” stated “Overcoming the challenges of working in space has led to many technological and scientific advances that have provided benefits to society on Earth in areas including health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity.” The technological and scientific advances that have come out through the space program have greatly helped society in many ways. One way that the space program has helped people is in the area of health and medicine, because of the space program inventions such as artificial limbs, and infrared ear thermometers have benefitted people all over the world. Next, In the article, “Technologies Benefit Our Lives”, it says, “NASA’s continued funding, coupled with its collective innovations in robotics and shock-absorption/comfort materials are inspiring and enabling the private sector to create new and better solutions for animal and human prostheses. Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle systems with robotic sensing and actuation capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities are

In a recent article published by CNN, Strickland (2017) discusses a recent study regarding the brains of astronauts returning from space. This study was conducted by performing MRI scans on the brains of astronauts before and after they went on their space missions, which were of varying lengths. A total of 34 astronauts participated; 18 of them were part of long-term missions and 16 were part of short-term missions. The study found that spending more time in zero gravity resulted in the astronauts’ brains having an increased amount of cerebrospinal fluid present, causing their brains to appear squeezed, meaning that the space between brain regions appeared smaller. Along with this, the findings also indicate that the brains of astronauts

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,

The International Space Station, in popular science fiction movies, is portrayed as having spaceships with artificial gravity. In actuality, lack of gravity poses great risks for astronauts, such as muscle degeneration and disorientation. Rachel Feltman, in her article “Why Don’t We Have Artificial Gravity?”, addresses the possibility of artificial gravity aboard spaceships. Feltman’s claim is that the artificial gravity, commonly depicted in movies, is not an option in space travel. Feltman utilizes logos to establish her evidence and reasoning as to why artificial gravity will not work in space, as well as adopting a pedantic style of writing, plus an allusion to a standard science fiction movie.