Hey Florida! Want to go to Mars? This is what you do to your body

The president said, “I am eager to plant stars and stripes on the planet Mars. Would you like to sign up for that mission? What will happen to your body in the three years you will be gone?

With the US continuing to prioritize space travel, you might wonder why everyone wants to travel to Mars, and it is even ethical to expose humans to such extreme physiological conditions. The world is watching as Boeing Starliner astronauts remain stuck in space until at least March due to capsule malfunctions.

Many questions have arisen about the impact of people spending long periods in space, but we still don’t have all the answers. However, I have a few ideas to study how SpaceFlight affects human physiology and performance.

The first 10 minutes of your journey are exciting, but that’s the next few months and years that we really need to worry about. It solved some, but not all, problems. After lifting, the high G-forces will stick your body onto the crew’s sofa as it accelerates, but there’s not much to be afraid of. A typical launch is only about half the acceleration experienced by fighter pilots. You may feel the lighthead, but astronauts have been dealing with this for generations.

In just 10 minutes, it speeds up at about 25,000 miles per hour, quickly enough to escape the gravity of the Earth. Suddenly, you’ll float. You’ve seen videos of people who are somesedaulting with microgravity, right? That’s a great feeling, but not long. Your eyes turn to the brain visually, while the organs in the inner ear are called the vestibular system, which depends on gravity to tell you which method is rising. In space, you can’t see it from below.

You may experience your brain confusion as a brain-rising space movement sickness. You may feel nauseous, especially when you move your head, as if you are turning it up and down. You are on your way to Mars before your inner ear settles down, and it can take days or weeks.

Before that, you should exercise for 2 hours a day to prevent your muscles and bones from rotting. On Earth, gravity loads your muscles and bones, even when you are simply standing. However, in space, bones lose 1% density per month unless they move. Unfortunately, exercise does little to support the vestibular system. Your brain will ultimately adapt to the confused signals of this balance system by ignoring this balance system. Then, about seven months later, it lands on Mars, and the gravity begins again, and resumes communicating to the brain how the inner ear is rising.

Based on what we know from returning from astronauts to Earth’s gravity, your space motion sickness will return with venge. You will become dizzy and it will be difficult to maintain your balance until your brain adapts again. Even if you weigh only 40% of what you did on Earth, don’t expect to run around to gather rocks and quickly set up habitat.

These are some of the things you feel, but there are bad concerns. Did you mention cosmic radiation? The International Space Station astronauts are still within the Earth’s magnetic field and protect them from the radiation effects of the sun and space. Traveling to Mars, even in shielded vehicles, exposes radiation levels well above the annual limits for U.S. Department of Energy radiation workers.

Mars’ magnetic fields are much weaker than Earth’s magnetic fields, so there is a considerable amount of radiation exposure on Earth. Acute radiation diseases can lead to nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Long-term outcomes include increased risk and degeneration of cancer in several parts of the brain. Many scientists are working on spacecraft, habitats, new space-scale shielding materials, and dietary supplements. I hope all of these are ready before launch.

My research also shows the unexpected effects of microgravity on the brain. Following a space trip, the brain sits high in the skull. The structures at the top of the brain are pressed against the inside of the skull, and the central cavity of the brain, including cerebrospinal fluid, expanding the ventricle, which absorbs more fluid. If you are a neurologist on Earth and saw this develop into your patient, you will be worried.

But surprisingly, the crew has no obvious or acute changes in health or performance that may be associated with these brain changes. This may be because astronauts are highly educated, well trained, appropriate, and at least potentially short-term compensation. My ongoing work will look at how such changes interact with the aging process, and how they interact. These effects remain evident for at least one year of spaceflight and can predispose people to age-related degenerative conditions. Their time in space may cost more as they get older on Earth.

Therefore, it is necessary to examine the results and benefits to consider this type of long-term space research. Humans have been explorers for centuries. The first modern man left Africa about 100,000 years ago. And despite the risks of exploration, the rewards for human progress are immeasurable. Are you still going? I would.

Dr. Rachael Seidler is a professor in the Faculty of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology and is deputy director of the Astraeus Space Research Institute at the University of Florida.