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American astronaut Marsha Ivins demonstrates the effects of microgravity on her hair in space. The effects of spaceflight on the human body are complex and largely harmful over both short and long term. [1] Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton (spaceflight osteopenia). [2]
In the US human space program, the only in-flight countermeasure to skeletal muscle functional deficits that has been utilized thus far is physical exercise. In-flight exercise hardware and protocols have varied from mission to mission, somewhat dependent on mission duration and the volume of the spacecraft available.
The Phantom Torso, as seen here in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), is designed to measure the effects of radiation on organs inside the body by using a torso that is similar to those used to train radiologists on Earth. The torso is equivalent in height and weight to an average adult male.
The mission supported the NASA Twins study, which helps shed light on the health effects of long-duration spaceflight. [11] The goal aboard the orbiting laboratory was to understand better how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space. [9] Data from the mission was used to improve assessments of crew performance and health.
Astronauts lose an average of more than 1% bone mass per month spent in space. [1] There is concern that during long-duration flights, excessive bone loss and the associated increase in serum calcium ion levels will interfere with execution of mission tasks and result in irreversible skeletal damage.
Psychological and sociological effects of space flight are important to understanding how to successfully achieve the goals of long-duration expeditionary missions. Although robotic spacecraft have landed on Mars , plans have also been discussed for a human expedition , perhaps in the 2030s, [ 1 ] for a return mission.
The goal of space radiation research is to estimate and reduce uncertainties in risk projection models and, if necessary, develop countermeasures and technologies to monitor and treat adverse outcomes to human health and performance that are relevant to space radiation for short-term and career exposures, including acute or late CNS effects ...
Aerospace physiology is the study of the effects of high altitudes on the body, such as different pressures and levels of oxygen. At different altitudes the body may react in different ways, provoking more cardiac output, and producing more erythrocytes. These changes cause more energy waste in the body, causing muscle fatigue, but this varies ...