From the imagination of Ray Bradbury to the front pages of our newspapers, the prospect of traversing vast reaches of space and seeing Mars firsthand has long inhabited and excited the idealistic public consciousness. However, our recent talk with psychiatrist Mathias Basner revealed that the odyssey comes with a number of physiological costs. Here are some of the most prominent known bodily effects of long-term space travel:
If you think it’s difficult to get enough sleep in an age of 24 hours news cycles and the allure of Facebook surfing, consider how hard it must be without the sun…or gravity. The first of many studies on the Mars500 Project have been released, and it documented the sleeping habits of five men isolated on earth for 520 days.
Our conversation today about our genetic wanderlust got us thinking about the interstellar urge to roam. Luckily, the Dutch-based Mars One is planning the first human trip to Mars in 2023. If you have ten years to spare—and are resilient, adaptable, trusting, curious, creative, and resourceful—you may be the ideal candidate. Before you rush to fill out your application, consider these cinematic warnings about space travel. Because everything that can go wrong in outer space, will go wrong. Yeah, Murphy's Law is intergalactic.
Three mice have returned home from ninety-one days aboard the international space station. The trip was the longest in space for any animal besides humans.Jessica Hamzelou wrote about what these intrepid space mice reveal about how space travel and zero gravity affect physiology for New ScientistMagazine and joins us now to go over the results.
