The Bell Nucleus 2017-2018 BN Jan 2018 Issue | Page 26

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Impressive accomplishments from space missions often overshadow the
debilitating health effects astronauts experience in their time in space. As space
travel becomes more common and extensive, a focus on health in space is
absolutely necessary.
American astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmo-
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and two hours of daily exercise to combat cal-
naut Mikhail Kornienko landed in Kazakhstan cium loss. Even then, they may never regain
last March, after spending a year aboard the their bone mass completely. To top that off,
International Space Station (ISS). This was since astronauts are exposed to higher levels
the longest time an American astronaut spent of radiation (Earth’s atmosphere isn’t there to
in space, and NASA scientists were eager to deflect harmful rays from the Sun), they are
study him. They compared his health and at an increased risk of heart disease. Interest-
bodily functions to his twin brother Mark to ingly enough, Neil Armstrong died of compli-
analyze the impacts of living in space. Find- cations from heart surgery.
ings from space studies like these will eventu- In light of these issues, NASA has implement-
ally help scientists plan for manned-Mars
ed space exercise technology to tackle these
missions—that’s 2 ½ years in space--and problems. One of the equipments astronauts
even longer expeditions in the future. use is the Resistance Exercise Device (RED)
Although scientists are still examining the re- System. Exercising in almost zero gravity is
sults from the Kelly experiment, the most no- much easier due to the lack of gravity, so the
table early finding was that Scott Kelly’s bone treadmill and bicycle are modified for exer-
density reduced in space. This isn’t surprising cise via SpiraFlex technology. Elastomers
to scientists in lieu of past data from astro- (synthetic rubbers) are molded in different
nauts in space; bone mass rate declines 1-2% shapes for different resistance, and they are
per month. There is an 11-17% muscular able to provide three times the amount of re-
strength decline after 180 days in space. As- sistance, compared to normal machines. Fur-
tronauts’ endurance goes down by 10%, and thermore, ultrasound and panoramic imaging
there is usually a 2-7% bone mineral density technologies help personal trainers on earth
loss. When astronauts land on earth, they also keep in touch with the astronauts and see how
have trouble standing up and balancing and they’re exercising. Currently, scientists are ex-
even have difficulty driving a car. However, perimenting with changing up the intensity of
the astronauts still have to regain their bone the workouts in space. A Sprint study is see-
density. They must undergo a special 1 year ing if alternating high, low, and continuous
rehab program that includes a specific diet exercise can reduce bone and muscle loss.
26 | THE BELL NUCLEUS