Weekend Reading: The Health Hazards of Space Travel: Novel Insights from Quantum Biology

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A graphic from 2014 showing NASA’s approach to a human presence on Mars. This has been superseded by the Artemis program, but many elements remain the same. (NASA)

Yesterday’s post highlighted the dangers involved in low-Earth orbit travel, while another earlier posting mentioned a book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith who wrote “A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?“

Well, the evidence continues to build on the difficulty of space travel and the need for greater study. This time its a report from The Guy Foundation in England, established by Geoffrey and Kate Guy to “facilitate exploration into quantum effects in biology and the role it could play in advancing medicine.” The 94-page report is titled The Health Hazards of Space Travel: Novel Insights from Quantum Biology.

You can read it this weekend at your leisure, but the bottom line is stated succinctly in the executive summary, further summarized here:

  • ...space travel seems likely to induce accelerated ageing in astronauts…associated with the disruption of cellular bioenergetics which could have other, perhaps more worrying health consequences.
  • …complex long-lived organisms, such as humans, will not be able to adapt to the unnatural environment of space, while shorter-lived, rapidly evolving ones, such as bacteria will.
  • At this stage, the following factors seem particularly significant…
    • zero gravity…;
    • {i}ncreased radiation…;
    • [t]he lack of a magnetic field…; and
    • [a] lack of near-infrared radiation.
  • Further experiments are urgently needed to improve our understanding of the underlying causes of space-induced ill health, and potential approaches to mitigate it.

The bottom line is that if we want to spread more than bacteria throughout the solar system and beyond, we need to get to work on these issues.

I am hoping Mr. Musk and friends are reading this before jumping off a cliff (or Earth in this case) with Mars-bound Starships. In fact, it may encourage Mr. Musk to use some of his funds to study these issues rather than play games with politics here are Earth. The $47 billion spent on Twitter would have gone a long way to help Mr. Musk achieve his dream of a Mars-based society, if that really is his dream.

Space Quote: Do Not Take Any “Normal” Operations for Granted

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft approaching the ISS on March 16, 2023. (NASA)

“When you look at these recent incidents over the last handful of weeks, it does lead one say that it’s apparent that operating safely requires significant attention to detail as hardware ages and the pace of operations increases…Both NASA and SpaceX need to maintain focus on safe Crew Dragon operations and not take any ‘normal’ operations for granted.”

-Statement by Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) committee member Kent Rominger, as quoted by Space News, regarding recent SpaceX mishaps, including three recent Falcon 9 rocket issues as well as a parachute problem during the October 25th return of Crew-8 on a Dragon capsule from the International Space Station (ISS). After the splashdown, all four astronauts were hospitalized for observation.

Pic of the Week: Galaxies Passing in the Night

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)

This week’s image showing two galaxies – IC 2163 and NGC 2207 – comes from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Here is more about the image from Hubblesite.org:

The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left, cataloged as IC 2163, passed behind NGC 2207, the larger spiral galaxy at right.

Both have increased star formation rates. Combined, they are estimated to form the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun annually. Our Milky Way galaxy forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year.

Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae, each of which may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed new many stars to form. (Find these areas by looking for the bluest regions).

Space Stories: Questions About Orion, NASA’s Impact on Economy, and a New Crew for the Chinese Space Station

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Image (Credit): Components of the Orion spacecraft. (NASA)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—ARSTechnica: “For Some Reason, NASA is Treating Orion’s Heat Shield Problems as a Secret“

For those who follow NASA’s human spaceflight program, when the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield cracked and chipped away during atmospheric reentry on the unpiloted Artemis I test flight in late 2022, what caused it became a burning question. Multiple NASA officials said Monday they now know the answer, but they’re not telling. Instead, agency officials want to wait until more reviews are done to determine what this means for Artemis II, the Orion spacecraft’s first crew mission around the Moon, officially scheduled for launch in September 2025.

—NASA: “New Report Shows NASA’s $75.6 Billion Boost to US Economy“

In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023…Combined, NASA’s missions supported 304,803 jobs nationwide, and generated an estimated $9.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes throughout the United States.

—ABC News: “China Launches New Crew to its Space Station as it Seeks to Expand Exploration“

China declared a “complete success” after it launched a new three-person crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday as the country seeks to expand its exploration of outer space with missions to the moon and beyond. The Shenzhou-19 spaceship carrying the trio blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:27 a.m. local time atop a Long March-2F rocket, the backbone of China’s crewed space missions.