Astronauts have privacy too
NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
81–90 of 166 posts
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#82We already know that low-gravity causes all kinds of bone and muscle weakness and even messes with eyesight in a dramatic manner. The scary part is while the bones/muscles can be healed over time, the eyesight problems persist and appear to be irreversible. They have to solve this before trips to Mars will be possible, unless they are going to simulate gravity by constantly (slowly) accelerating half-way there and th…
A constant-acceleration flight profile would also be a lot faster for interplanetary travel, but is impractical for any known or currently plausible reaction engine: the rocket equation strikes again. Ion or Hall-effect thrusters require only electrical power and so can more or less continuously accelerate, but they produce far too little thrust to provide meaningful pseudogravity.
Classically, the way to mitigate the medical problems of long microgravity exposure is by giving the spacecraft a rotating section, which produces enough centrifugal "down" to mostly satisfy human physiology. I understand the engineering problem involved there to be fairly severe in its own right, but most likely soluble given an established orbital manufacturing industry amply supplied by heavy lift from Earthside.
Another option might be to cable a pair of spacecraft together and spin them about their common barycenter, as I believe has been done with satellites in a few cases. Perhaps this will serve to improve the economics of Martian convict labor by increasing survival rates of transportees, while the English travel first class aboard luxury liners with spin gravity and nightly zero-G cabaret.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#83It’s either because they don’t want us to freak out that we’re not gonna be able to escape the climate change hell on earth to go to Mars or that there is some reality behind all these new UFO disclosures.
We're not going to be able to escape climate change hell on earth by going to mars. You're not transferring 8 billion people to mars this century. The extremely optimistic scenario is that a small group of select rich people and explorers will be able to go to mars and live there self-sufficiently this century, but "we", as in 99.99% of humans, will have to deal with conditions on earth as they are.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#84We already know that low-gravity causes all kinds of bone and muscle weakness and even messes with eyesight in a dramatic manner. The scary part is while the bones/muscles can be healed over time, the eyesight problems persist and appear to be irreversible. They have to solve this before trips to Mars will be possible, unless they are going to simulate gravity by constantly (slowly) accelerating half-way there and th…
Astronauts have survived in the ISS for longer than it would take to make the trip to Mars. I don't think slightly damaging your eyesight would be a deal breaker if you're willing to go to Mars, a radioactive, unbreathable, freezing, near-vacuum and sterile desert.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#85Astronauts have privacy too
I suppose you're right. As long as there ends up being some form of public discloser either through a journal or press conference in a timely manner (e.g. not 50 years from now) then humanity can still benefit.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#86Suni Williams who is still in orbit, has lost a lot of weight. I wonder if it's related to that. Trying to find a commonality. This quote was interesting, not sure exactly how true it is - "Due to changes in metabolism, astronauts consume twice as many calories as an ordinary person: just to maintain their current weight, it takes about 4 thousand calories per day. Williams, doctors suggest, will need about 5 thousan…
Wow really? This could be a huge market for rich people who need a beach body within 3 months. Ozempic + a vacation in space could be a game changer for them.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#87This is exactly the kind of headline that would appear 20 minutes into a B-rate sci-fi movie. As we approach Act II, an intrepid young journalist rushes to the hospital to find out what’s really going on… But wait, who is in the black car trailing her?
Sounds like the start of a Michael Chrichton novel
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#88It’s either because they don’t want us to freak out that we’re not gonna be able to escape the climate change hell on earth to go to Mars or that there is some reality behind all these new UFO disclosures.
We're not going to be able to escape climate change hell on earth by going to mars. You're not transferring 8 billion people to mars this century. The extremely optimistic scenario is that a small group of select rich people and explorers will be able to go to mars and live there self-sufficiently this century, but "we", as in 99.99% of humans, will have to deal with conditions on earth as they are.
You need a huge group of people to even vaguely approach self sufficiency, or multiple generational advances in manufacturing.
For example, if you are importing microchips, you are not self sufficient.
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#89It’s either because they don’t want us to freak out that we’re not gonna be able to escape the climate change hell on earth to go to Mars or that there is some reality behind all these new UFO disclosures.
We're not going to be able to escape climate change hell on earth by going to mars. You're not transferring 8 billion people to mars this century. The extremely optimistic scenario is that a small group of select rich people and explorers will be able to go to mars and live there self-sufficiently this century, but "we", as in 99.99% of humans, will have to deal with conditions on earth as they are.
Also, climate conditions on Mars are worse than on Earth. I hear it’s so bad you can’t even go outside!
Re: NASA remains silent on why crew went to hospital after dragon splashdown
#90Space Herpes. Definitely Space Herpes. I swear I can’t be the only one who has seen Ice Pirates (1984).
There are dozens of us! DOZENS!