Astronaut Scott Kelly holds
the record for the most consecutive days spent in outer space, but it's an
achievement that unfortunately comes with a high cost. Upon returning home to
Earth, Kelly now suffers numerous health problems caused by living in space,
but he expected as much when he signed up for his 340-day mission.
Scientists studying the
effects of outer space on the human body hope that Kelly's readjustment to
Earth will help them better understand how living sans gravity affects a
person's health. Kelly, who has an identical twin brother who also happens to
be an astronaut, makes for a perfect subject when examining space-related
health issues; both he and his brother, who spent six months in space, could
shed light on the short and long-term health problems caused by outer space.
After spending a year back
on Earth, Kelly now shares his health struggles in a new book entitled
Endurance. Scott Kelly's health problems sound absolutely grueling, and he will
face issues with his health for the rest of his life. Space already sounds
scary enough, and the effects of space on Scott Kelly's body show living in
zero gravity comes with zero health perks.
Legs Like "Alien
Stumps" And Ankles Swollen To A Bursting Point
"I can feel the tissue
in my legs swelling. I shuffle my way to the bath room, moving my weight from
one foot to the other with deliberate effort. Left. Right. Left. Right. I make it
to the bathroom, flip on the light, and look down at my legs. They are swollen
and alien stumps, not legs at all. 'Oh sh*t,' I say.
'Amiko, come look at this.'
She kneels down and squeezes one ankle, and it squishes like a water balloon.
She looks up at me with worried eyes. 'I can't even feel your ankle bones,' she
says."
A Burning Rash All Over His
Skin
"'My skin is burning,
too,' I tell her. Amiko frantically examines me. I have a strange rash all over
my back, the backs of my legs, the back of my head and neck – everywhere I was
in contact with the bed. I can feel her cool hands moving over my inflamed
skin. 'It looks like an allergic rash,' she says. 'Like hives.'"
An Extremely High Risk Of
Cancer
"I had been exposed to
more than 30 times the radiation of a person on Earth, equivalent to about 10
chest X-rays every day. This exposure would increase my risk of a fatal cancer
for the rest of my life."
Relentless Very High Fever
"'Amiko,'" I
finally manage to say. She is alarmed by the sound of my voice. 'What is it?' Her hand is on
my arm, then on my forehead. Her skin feels chilled, but
it's just that I'm so hot. 'I don't feel good,' I say."
A Terrifying Rush Of Blood
To The Legs
"I struggle to get up.
Find the edge of the bed. Feet down. Sit up. Stand up. At every stage I feel
like I'm fighting through quicksand. When I'm finally vertical, the pain in my
legs is awful, and on top of that pain I feel a sensation that's even more
alarming: it feels as though all the blood in my body is rushing to my legs,
like the sensation of the blood rushing to your head when you do a handstand,
but in reverse."
Waves Of Nausea Far Worse
Than After The Previous Mission
"I've only been asleep
for a couple of hours but I feel delirious. It's a struggle to come to
consciousness enough to move, to tell her [Amiko] how awful I feel. I'm
seriously nauseated now, feverish, and my pain has gotten worse. This isn't
like how I felt after my last mission. This is much, much worse."
Muscles And Joints Feeling
Prematurely Aged
"It's March 2016, and
I've been back on Earth, after a year in space, for precisely 48 hours. I push
back from the table and struggle to stand up, feeling like a very old man
getting out of a recliner."
An Overwhelming Nausea From
The Crushing Pressure Of Gravity
"Every part of my body
hurts. All my joints and all of my muscles are protesting the crushing pressure
of gravity. I'm also nauseated, though I haven't thrown up. I strip off my
clothes and get into bed, relishing the feeling of sheets, the light pressure
of the blanket over me, the fluff of the pillow under my head."
A Terrifying Rush Of Blood
To The Legs
"I struggle to get up.
Find the edge of the bed. Feet down. Sit up. Stand up. At every stage I feel
like I'm fighting through quicksand. When I'm finally vertical, the pain in my
legs is awful, and on top of that pain I feel a sensation that's even more
alarming: it feels as though all the blood in my body is rushing to my legs,
like the sensation of the blood rushing to your head when you do a handstand,
but in reverse."
Waves Of Nausea Far Worse Than
After The Previous Mission
"I've only been asleep
for a couple of hours but I feel delirious. It's a struggle to come to
consciousness enough to move, to tell her [Amiko] how awful I feel. I'm
seriously nauseated now, feverish, and my pain has gotten worse.
This isn't like how I felt
after my last mission. This is much, much worse."
Muscles And Joints Feeling
Prematurely Aged
"It's March 2016, and
I've been back on Earth, after a year in space, for precisely 48 hours. I push
back from the table and struggle to stand up, feeling like a very old man
getting out of a recliner."
An Overwhelming Nausea From
The Crushing Pressure Of Gravity
Via Ranker
Did you notice your double paragraphings?
ReplyDeleteSo why are we fixated on sending humans to Mars? We're obviously not designed to live long-term anywhere except Earth.
ReplyDeleteThe Earth is a fragile thing that we're slapping around savagely. Once Earth fails, we'll have no other choice but to hop to another planet.
DeleteAdd to that we don't know when we'll have an extinction event like a super volcano or a meteorite.
It's better to have the existing tech there than to have to be flung into the deep unknown with unproven technology.
Mark -- two points:
Delete1.) Michael is right.
2.) Why do you assert that we were designed? There's NOTHING to indicate that.
We are already experiencing an extinction event. We won’t die due to a rogue meteor or a super volcano. We will die either from our destruction of the climate or nuclear war. We don’t have a lot of time left either.
DeleteWell Clyde, forgive me for using the word "designed" (we wouldn't want to touch the third rail of the possible existence of a creator!), let's say "evolved". Can we really evolve quickly enough to survive and thrive on another planet under different conditions? Wormholes aside, can we even live long enough to make the trip? We're arrogant to think that we can destroy the earth. One burp from mother earth and many, if not all of us, will be gone and the planet will continue without us.
DeleteWe are NOT designed to live on Earth, we are adapted to live on Earth. It's a huge difference. Living on another planet or on the Moon will require readaptation, of course. But even here, adaptation is an ongoing process. Today's Earth is not the same with the Earth 1 milion years ago. We've adapted on the way.
DeleteI believe all those here arguing that designed is an incorrect term are plainly making a big deal out of nothing. Get over the word choice. There is no huge difference because adaption requires design. Everything has a design whether it evolved or was created by man or God.
Deletemaybe an intermediate station with less gravitational acceleration would help to readjust to earth's gravity...like a sort of decompressing chamber for deep sea divers..
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, the issue is that without gravity, the muscles atrophy, including the heart and all of those little valves in the veins that keep blood flowing in one direction. Jules Verne and Walt Disney had it right - we need artificial gravity to survive, maybe by a wheel-shaped spacecraft that spins, maybe by entering a viscous-liquid-filled container that spins like a human-sized centrifuge to simulate gravitational resistance and we do our daily exercises there.
ReplyDelete