A Reach For The Unknown
A Reach For The Unknown
When the dangers of space collide with human curiosity
Written by: Carly Truskett
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Artist Rick Lundh's abstract Jovian artwork captures the tumultuous surface of Jupiter. Lundh created this piece from the original data on the JunoCam imager. Photo courtesy: NASA.
Space, the new frontier of exploration, is daunting in size and expanse. It embodies the unknown, with only a minuscule amount of gravity that allows a sensation of weightlessness, but in reality, it's a state of freefall. We only know so much about space and there is a vast amount of knowledge left unconquered and terrain unexplored. But discovering the mysteries out of this world comes at a price.
The human body is built to accommodate the Earth's environment. Our
ancestry has evolved to survive on this planet and with its gravity.
However, to venture out into space where we have no evolutionary
advantages, the body is severely affected.
On April 12, 1961, when the Soviet cosmonaut and Air Force pilot,
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin launched into the atmosphere in a Vostok
3KA, he took a risk for the greater good. At the time, not much was
known about the potential harm he could be exposed too. Since that
remarkable day, time has passed, and discoveries were made regarding
a topic once foreign to our curious minds.
Dawn Davies is the founder of Earthbound Astronomer, a program designed to aid upcoming astronomers and educators. Davies has been in the astronomy field for over 12 years now and is a regular member of the Astronomical Society and International Dark-Sky Association. She said that as a species defined by our environment, the impact of microgravity is drastic.
"There's been medical report, after report about the bone density loss, the muscle loss," Davies said, "We are an entire species that has evolved in a gravity rich environment. To automatically subject ourselves to zero gravity has severe consequences. And while they've done a lot as far as the workout equipment they have on the ISS, that's always going to be an issue."
In a process known as muscle atrophy, astronauts can lose up to 20% of their muscle mass. Those most affected are the calf muscles, the quadriceps, and the muscles of the back and neck relating to posture. The heart also takes a toil while in space. Due to its reduced use, it morphs into a more spherical shape and decreases in mass.
Even though these hindrances are a significant concern, various exercise equipment like the ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device), COLBERT (Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill) and CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System), have been developed to combat this. By enabling a way for astronauts to strengthen their muscles while in space, the potential harm is nullified.
Though our technology and efficiency have improved, there are still significant obstacles we face. Paul Schumann is the current science teacher at Kirby Hall School. Apart from having over 12 years in the education field, Schumann has taught previous astronomy courses. He said that due to the lack of strain from the Earth's gravity, the body severely deteriorates.
"[because] Gravity is not pulling on your bones, and there's not that constant stress," Schumann said, "your bones become brittle, they start to lose some of the hard calcium outer parts…[and the bones] start to thin. Looking at astronauts, when they come back, they have more brittle bones.."
While in microgravity, there can be a loss of 1.5% bone tissue, affecting predominantly the lower vertebrae, hip, and femur. The bones' deterioration often resembles osteoporosis, which stems from a deficiency of vitamin D. To combat this, astronauts are assigned specific diets rich in nutrients and prescribed supplements.
Yet, the displacements aren't limited to the musculoskeletal system but also extend to the digestive, vestibular and circulatory systems. Lucia Brimer is the co-founder of the educational outreach program, Stars and Science Austin, with over 20 years of experience educating youth about astronomy. Both she and Schumann said that because the body is intended to pull blood up against the strain of gravity, in space, it abnormally accumulates in the upper body.
"When the blood flows, it's used to being pulled downward," Brimer said, "The body is designed to try to pull the blood up from our feet and keep it up in our head...When there's no gravity, it will pool more in your brain...You get less blood in your lower extremities than what your body's used to."
"If you take a look at the people on the station, their faces look kind of puffy," Schumann said, "Because the blood [was] going there. And they say the problem with that is, it ruins your sense of smell...They say food doesn't taste good. You have a tendency to want to eat things that have really strong flavors because you've lost your sense of smell."
According to Brimer, the most considerable difficulty we face regarding the human body and its capacity in space is radiation.
"When they're in the space station or the space shuttle, there is... this big thick skin that protects the astronauts and inside from most radiation," said Brimer, "But, when you have astronauts on the moon or Mars, and particularly on Mars, they're out of the Earth's magnetic field, and out of the Earth protection. All kinds of really dangerous radiation can come down on us. And I think that is probably the greatest difficulty right now."
Radiation can be especially potent when the Earth's magnetic field isn't present. Schumann explains why there is a higher risk of exposure to radiation on Mars.
"If you're in orbit around the Earth, because it's a big magnet, it has a magnetic field around it, and it protects the Earth from radiation from the sun." Schumann said, "What they call the solar wind, is the high energy particles that come from the sun... If you're close to the Earth, like you are the International Space Station, you're protected from that. And even when you go to the moon like NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration], [they] were close enough to be mostly protected from that. But if you go out into interplanetary space, if you go to Mars, you're not going to be protected by that."
If an astronaut comes in contact with this lethal radiation, their lymphocytes can suffer, allowing the immune system to become weaker and more susceptible to disease. There's also an influx in the chances of cataracts, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.
But not every outcome from this radiation has been necessarily bad. A study conducted in 2015 and 2016 involving twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly found some fascinating information. For 340 days, Scott Kelly was in space; his identical twin was housed on Earth. They both underwent the same experiments, and from that, many discoveries were made. In regards to radiation, it's believed that gene activity was heightened to heal the damage caused.
While Brimer believed that radiation was the biggest obstacle when it comes to space, others held different opinions. Schumann has said that he considers the duration of space missions to be the central issue.
"The human body is not designed to be in zero gravity," Schumann said, "We have to either learn how to get people to travel in space where there's some sort of gravity...like a spinning spaceship, where the centrifugal force gives you the illusion of gravity. Or we need to find a way to make the trips go faster, so people are not in zero gravity for months at a time...I really think that's the key. They're going to have to develop better propulsion systems. Instead of taking months, they can do it in weeks, and a few weeks in zero gravity is not going to make a big difference…"
By proposing that less time be spent in a harmful environment, significant damage could be prevented. But, unlike Brimer and Schumann, Davies believed that radiation and space flight time could be conquered by humans faster than their differences settled.
"We've already come to realize that we can adapt to environments." Davies said, "We've realized this since we first started putting people up into low Earth orbit...I think the biggest challenge is going to be doing it as a global entity, and not by NASA versus ESA [European Space Agency] versus the Indian Space Program. We've shown that we can collaborate in the space station because there are many countries contributing to that. But, it's one thing when you have contributed financial and individual support, equipment support,...Can we enter globally and expand into our solar system and expand to the universe without drawing political or geographical lines like we have on this planet?"
Despite the 59 years that have passed since Yuri Gagarin was launched into the atmosphere, there is still much undiscovered. So many mysteries left uncovered. Even though there are many risks to human curiosity, our desire for exploration never ceases to be quenched. I believe Lucia Brimer said it best:
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Apart from affecting the appeal of food, frequently astronauts will face space adaptation syndrome, also known as space sickness. It often causes nausea and regurgitation and is believed to stem from the disorientation of the vestibular system. This system is responsible for the communication of motion, head position, and spatial orientation to the brain. In response to a microgravity environment, it undergoes a neural mismatch.
Brimer, who's experienced a variation of this sickness while on a KC 125 aircraft, said even though the effects are nauseating, it isn't permanent.
"A lot of astronauts do have some trouble with space sickness." Brimer said, "But within a few hours or a few days, they get used to it, and then it gets fine."
"Space is, by definition, dangerous. When there were three astronauts that blew up in Apollo one on the launch pad before it even launched,.. the Columbia that exploded whenever it was getting ready to land, and it exploded right over the Texas skies."
"...the planets, they're very tiny things in space, and we've got a long way to go. However, space is a new frontier. Back in the days when our country was being colonized. The fact that it was really dangerous to go out west, there were wild animals...unknown natural things. There was a very high probability that people...would die. And they kept going because that's the way the human spirit is. We want to explore. We want to do new things. We want to push ourselves, our bodies, and our technologies...I see it as the whole future of humanity."
"And we have to take very good care of this world because it is very, very unique, and there's no place else more like it, but getting off the Earth and trying to find other places that we also might be able to live...If we decide that we're done learning, we're done exploring. We're fine where we are. That's a dead end. There's nothing else to go."
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Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut, and Air Force pilot prepares to launch into the atmosphere. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first man to reach outer space. Photo courtesy of NASA.
Special thanks to my interviewees
Paul Schumann
Paul Schumann poses for a photo. Schumann currently teaches science courses for grades 4th-12lft. Photo courtesy of Paul Schumann.
Lucia Brimer
Smiling at the camera is Lucia Brimer. Brimer co-founded the alongside Bobby Corley, the educational outreach program Stars, and Science Austin. Photo courtesy: Lucia Brimer
Dawn Davies
Dawn Davies captures a moment. Ms. Davies is the founder of Earthbound Astronomer, a source for aspiring astronomers and educators. Photo courtesy: Dawn Davies
Cynthia Brooks
Cynthia Brooks visiting the Apollo 11 Command Module at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Ms. Brooks is an Engineering Scientist from the Department of Astronomy at UT Austin and has been working to develop telescope instruments used to study the spectra of young stars and exoplanets. Photo courtesy: Cynthia Brooks