So lately, everyone's abuzz with chatter of that future Mars trip again. Elon Musk and his plans, Obama's announcement, etc. There are tons of articles out there talking about everything from how it'll be done to what the risks are. But the one thing I don't see talked about very much is gravity.
Mars has, AFAIK, 10% the mass of the Earth, and only 38% of its gravity. Astronauts in low gravity environments already have to work hard to maintain their bodily functions. Muscle atrophy, including the heart (which is, of course, a muscle), is a very real risk that they have to work hard to prevent.
Now, Mars has more gravity than, say, the International Space Station, but it's still much lower than Earth's. Which raises a few questions:
1) Will future Martian colonists need to engage in strict exercise regimens (like astronauts) for their entire lives, or else risk serious health complications (well, more serious than those who don't exercise here on Earth, anyway)?
2) Can babies develop properly in this low gravity environment?
3) Will people who spend their whole life on Mars, the future Martians, be able to return to the Earth, even for a short time? Or will their bodies, after a lifetime on Mars, not be able to handle conditions on Earth?
Submitted October 13, 2016 at 08:17AM by Droid2Win http://ift.tt/2dZ8a95
No comments:
Post a Comment