For those that grew up in the Apollo era, it was easy to believe that humanity will soon conquer most of our galaxy. The Space Age brought us both hope and fear. However, half a century after the Apollo 11 mission, humanity is forced to rethink its expectations. Exploring outer space can be very dangerous for humans.
After all, we are fragile beings that face extreme challenges from the moment of breaching Earth’s atmosphere. We learned this from experience. Maybe this is the most important lesson that the Space Age has taught us.
In 2015, when astronaut Scott Kelly embarked on his nearly year-long mission, his body started to protest. His immune system began to act as if a dangerous virus attacked it. Basically, each cell in his body was confused by the lack of gravity.
NASA’s Twin Study Proves Space Travel Has Drastic Effects On The Human Body
For more astronauts, the lack of gravity causes issues like insomnia and blurred vision. Even more, the creation of protein in his organism started to become chaotic. Eventually, astronauts begin to adapt to zero gravity, but then they have to come back to Earth. Their return is marked by painful rashes, swollen legs, nausea, and other symptoms.
After his return, Kelly experienced these symptoms for about eight months. While he was away on his mission, Kelly’s twin brother was here, on Earth, going about his business, occasionally allowing scientists to take blood and urine samples from him, which were later compared to Kelly’s. NASA’s Twin Study proved that space travel has drastic effects on human bodies, like losing bone density and having atrophied muscles.
However, this study does not entirely rule out the possibility of exploring Mars sometime in the future. According to experts, even though there are some risks, with the discoveries made in technology, NASA might soon be able to send astronauts in more extended missions without putting their lives in danger.
