Will non-astronauts survive travel in space? Q & A with a NASA researcher



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Space tourism is officially open to businesses. This month, Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced that Yusaku Maezawa, a 42-year-old Japanese entrepreneur and art collector, would tour the moon in 2023. But he is not alone: ​​Maezawa will bring six to eight artists to create a "universal artistic project" and impressive. "

These tourists may not be driving SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket themselves, but they will still have to endure the physical and emotional stress of traveling to the moon. Let's say it's not very close to jet lag.

To find out exactly what is waiting for these lucky travelers, we spoke to Pasha Morshedi, who is collaborating with NASA to study the effects of long-term space travel on humans. In 2015, he led the integration of human research on the mission that sent Scott Kelly at the International Space Station for a year, the longest space mission ever entrusted to an American. Now he's working to create safe conditions for humans to travel to March.

Here on Earth, Morshedi is also a co-owner Rose water, a bar in Clear Lake, Texas, less than 20 minutes from the Johnson Space Center. His colleagues at NASA go there regularly. if you're lucky, you'll hear them discuss Mars Manhattan. If you can not go to Rosewater to cook Morshedi yourself, read on to find out what Maezawa and his friends could do to create a decent cocktail in space (hypothetically speaking) and what they can expect when they come back to our planet.

Before tackling serious topics, let's discuss cocktails. Will these space tourists enjoy it?

There is still no official recognition of alcohol in space. No medical study has been done on the effects of its consumption in space. But everyone knows that there have been some.[C'estlesecretlemoinsbiengardéquecertainsastronautesontbrisélaNASA[It'stheworst-keptsecretthatsomeastronautshavebrokentheNASA[C'estlesecretlemoinsbiengardéquecertainsastronautesontbrisélaNASA[It’stheworst-keptsecretthatsomeastronautshavebrokentheNASArule prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in the space. For the moment, this is only allowed on the ISS for scientific experiments.]

The problem is the ingredients. Throwing mass in space is very expensive, and liquids are one of the heavier things we throw. So, if you had to design a cocktail in space, it should be built from dry components. For example, you can not talk about Bombay Sapphire, but you can also use dried plants and ethanol and use the water already present to create this ad hoc solution, as if it were made in a distillery. You can bring citric acid and maybe lime or essential oils aromas and assemble them to make a decent gimlet.

Even if they do not drink, what will be the medical effects of space tourists?

[The SpaceX tourists] only stay for a few days to not feel the serious impact that our astronauts suffer after spending much more time there. Your nervous system is affected, so you will suffer from motion sickness. In addition, many astronauts describe their feeling of being congested. The fluids in your body are accustomed to being driven by gravity, but in the space they stay higher.

In the space, you are in free fall. So just touch a surface slightly to push it back and move it. Astronauts tell us that it is difficult to recalibrate your brain to do it. It's like, shit, I have to understand that very quickly because I keep pushing the walls too hard and flying in space.

What about when they come back?

Everyone will lose bone and muscle mass, but the amount of unpredictable. In addition, simple movements, such as moving your head, can give you the impression of turning when you come back. For those who have had vertigo, it is nothing compared to what these astronauts live.

Is space tourism a good idea?

We are a species in exploration and we must push beyond the Earth. It's like our destiny, so we have to understand that in one way or another. We might as well see what we can do and what we can not do.

That said, would I want to be the first person to take the SpaceX bus? Probably not. When you use a new technology, the risks are greater because you have not been able to analyze as much data. It's the same as when people say do not buy the first version of a phone because you're always going to have problems with technology.

Will artists make good tourists in space?

Art is a major component of human existence; wherever we explore, we must bring that with us. There was an astronaut named Cady Coleman who brought [a flute to space]. There is a Canadian astronaut [Chris Hadfield] who played "Oddity of space"On his guitar in the space.

In this film Contact, [Jodie Foster] go into space and in the end she sees all these incredible images. Her reaction is that they should have sent a poet because she could not express what she was feeling.

Where are we on the road to Mars?

I'm not allowed to speak on behalf of NASA, but I think humans will get there. We are working on how to adapt our technology and our bodies to survive. Long-term exposure to radiation is a serious concern; we do not want people to get cancer until they get to Mars.

We have a lot of information about what happens after six months [in space] but not so much on long missions. These are things we do not understand well. So we'll get there, but it's a lot more dangerous than is widely discussed in public.

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