Thaindian News

Aug 20 (THAINDIAN NEWS) New research has shown that a trip to Mars may not be all it is cracked up to be, since the long trip in zero gravity will weaken the muscles so badly that stepping out of the spaceship and simply walking may be impossible.

Researchers from Marquette University in Wisconsin, which were led by Robert Fitts, have studied the muscle tissue samples from nine American and Russian astronauts who were on board the International Space Station for six months. They had biopsies done forty five days before launch, and then again the very day they returned from space, and these biopsies show that zero gravity had very dramatic and devastating effects on the muscle tissues.

Although these astronauts were between 30 and 50 years old, and in healthy condition, after spending six months in orbit around the Earth in weightless conditions, they had the muscles of an 80 year old man. They had lost over 40% of their muscle mass.

What this means for a trip to Mars, which using today’s technology would take up to three years, is that the muscle atrophy could be so bad that astronauts may have to wait two or three weeks after landing before they were even fit enough to walk. Since calf muscles are the most effected, they could lose over 50% of their calf muscle mass.

In this weakened condition, more accidents would be likely to occur. The mental and emotional stress of a trip lasting that long away from friends and family would be extreme. They would also be subjected to different high energy particles, as well as cosmic radiation. Many illnesses and cancer could be caused by this.

Because of all of these issues and more, scientists believe that a trip to Mars at this time is simply too dangerous to be beneficial. They advice waiting until better technology could be created which would make the trip shorter, and less dangerous. Until then, they suggest sending robot-manned mission to evaluate further what problems and dangers such a trip could face.