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On the devastating effects of a year in space

brisbanetimes.com.au

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Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#61

Post by aetherson »

foota wrote: post #42
whatshisface wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zero-G also makes people sick, but astronauts can get used to it. If you put someone in a small spinning station for six months, would they also get used to the motion sickness? What if you found someone suffering from (and that had learned to live with) permanent vertigo?

Shouldn't motion sickness only happen when you have a reference frame? i.e., if you're on the space station you shouldn't be able to tell when it's spinning?

If the station is large enough. In smaller centrifuges, there'sre noticable Coriolis effects.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#62

Post by lojack »

everyone wrote: post #60

Astronauts always seem to be these clean-cut godfearing family-men types. Maybe antisocial misanthropic weirdos would be better suited. From a psychological perspective. They wouldnt miss family/friends, and might enjoy living on spacefood.

The military generally wants soldiers to have families because it gives them more of a will to survive. I imagine NASA wants similar things for their astronauts.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#63

Post by banned1 »

joering2 wrote: post #56
gozur88 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you're making a joke, but what you're saying is not at all true. Most people in the US have quite good healthcare. That's why it's so hard to change anything.

Say what? I cannot find a single friend or family member who wouldn't be complaining at the healthcare; and those who are healthy just complain how high deductibles are in case they got sick. Have you ever been to Europe? Some west-block countries like Germany? Same wait time for private sector only at the 10% cost surgeries, xrays you name it, with the same equipment that USA is using in most cases.

He didn't say everybody. He said most people. It's impossible to give everybody awesome treatment, unless of course you want to pay for it.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#64

Post by markbnj »

baddox wrote: post #2

I’m a little confused why only 48 hours after his return from space, he’s sleeping at home with his girlfriend and debating whether to take aspirin or go to the emergency room. I would have expected significant medical attention for much longer than 48 hours, given that this was the primary purpose for his extended stay on the ISS.

Came here to say this as well. You'd think he would have a number to call, or something, and ten minutes later there's medical attention coming down like a waterfall.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#65

Post by gwern »

jpatokal wrote: post #26

> But very little is known about what occurs after month six. The symptoms may get precipitously worse in the ninth month, for instance, or they may level off. We don't know, and there is only one way to find out. Actually, there's a second way: call Valery Polyakov. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov Or a whole bunch of other Mir veterans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Avdeyev

Probably not all the relevant data would've been recorded, and as far as Kelly goes, it's not every day that you have an identical twin to serve as the control!

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#66

Post by njharman »

baddox wrote: post #2

I’m a little confused why only 48 hours after his return from space, he’s sleeping at home with his girlfriend and debating whether to take aspirin or go to the emergency room. I would have expected significant medical attention for much longer than 48 hours, given that this was the primary purpose for his extended stay on the ISS.

The man just gave a year of his life. I expect NASA has a strong fairness and mental health reasons to reunite him with his family and loved ones as quickly as possible. Allowing him to spend his 3rd night back on earth at home seems like a small price for science to pay.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#67

Post by njharman »

everyone wrote: post #60

Astronauts always seem to be these clean-cut godfearing family-men types. Maybe antisocial misanthropic weirdos would be better suited. From a psychological perspective. They wouldnt miss family/friends, and might enjoy living on spacefood.

All the Air Force and Navy pilot ones are. The officer corps in both is extremely conservative and traditional. To the point that if you're not married you have difficult time rising to the mid/upper ranks.

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#68

Post by brownbat »

chrishacken wrote: post #14
martyvis wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that lack of gravity seems to be a major risk factor for well-being I'm surprised a static structure like the ISS doesn't yet have a rotating centrifuge-like structure ala 2001: A Space Oddysey to at least ward off the effects during sleep and downtime

There actually was a proposal for one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus-X There's also this issue: "Another problem is that we do know of adverse effects that arise at high rotational rates of speed. The Coriolis Effect has to do with rotating reference frames and it can seriously screw with the inner ear. The only way to maintain a strong centrifugal gravity while keeping rotational speed low is to lengthen th…

Real Engineering had an episode on simulated gravity through rotation. It's a great channel, though I was a little disappointed this episode talked more about fictional examples than proposals like Nautilus-X. Great watch either way though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im-JM0f_J7s

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#69

Post by boznz »

martyvis wrote: post #10
ilamont wrote: post #3

Based on the experience of cosmonauts who spent long periods of time on various Mir missions in the 1980s and 1990s, what is the long-term impact of staying in zero-gravity space for so long? If they lost bone mass, the walls of their hearts became thinner, and they received the equivalent of 10 chest X-rays daily over hundreds of days in space, are they experiencing debilitating effects 20 or 30 years later?

Given that lack of gravity seems to be a major risk factor for well-being I'm surprised a static structure like the ISS doesn't yet have a rotating centrifuge-like structure ala 2001: A Space Oddysey to at least ward off the effects during sleep and downtime

Lack of gravity also means there will never be a permanent presence in space. Making a big station and spinning it is the only way anyone is going to survive in space for more than a few years.

I guess if the costs of sending something into space comes down this will become an option, then they just have to solve radiation shielding and everyone will be happy.

Of course no tests have been actually done so both are assumptions..

Re: On the devastating effects of a year in space

#70

Post by baddox »

njharman wrote: post #66
baddox wrote: post #2

I’m a little confused why only 48 hours after his return from space, he’s sleeping at home with his girlfriend and debating whether to take aspirin or go to the emergency room. I would have expected significant medical attention for much longer than 48 hours, given that this was the primary purpose for his extended stay on the ISS.

The man just gave a year of his life. I expect NASA has a strong fairness and mental health reasons to reunite him with his family and loved ones as quickly as possible. Allowing him to spend his 3rd night back on earth at home seems like a small price for science to pay.

Unless of course he had a medical emergency, which this sounded pretty close to.
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