Hi there spacewalking hopefuls! I’m Ian for DNews: Now….Space is a horrible, horrible

place. As soon as humans exit the lovely, snug atmosphere of Earth, the cosmos is out

to kill us. I’m not kidding; there’s radiation from the sun, cosmic rays from distant supernovas

and even chunks of space debris traveling faster than a speeding bullet!

These killers are a very real threat to astronauts in space, but they’re only the tip of the

iceberg.

After spending a record-breaking one year in space, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly reported

some rather uncomfortable issues with his prolonged exposure to the microgravity environment

onboard the International Space Station. Interestingly, when he landed on Earth in March, Kelly was

one and a half inches taller than when he was when he launched into orbit. The lack

of Earth’s gravity caused his spine to expand, which quickly got squashed again after landing.

And this underscores an astronaut’s biggest problem in space: Gravity. Or the lack of

it.

Kelly complained of muscle pain; his eyesight was temporarily altered and his skin became

ultra-sensitive after he landed. Immediately after reaching Earth, his blood pressure dropped

-- his heart wasn’t used to pumping in a gravitational environment, so dizziness and

temporary loss of balance were obvious concerns. There’s always a period of adjustment to

Earth gravity after being in space, but Kelly’s mission was longer than most and some of his

health issues persisted.

Kelly’s one-year stint on the space station wasn’t designed to torture the veteran astronaut,

however. It was an experiment to see how the human body changes in space. And Kelly was

a special case; he had a twin brother, Mark, on Earth to act as his terrestrial control.

During his orbital stay, Kelly participated in a range of tests and had to engage in vigorous

exercise for 2 hours a day that all astronauts and cosmonauts have to endure to stave off

the effects of muscle atrophy. Bone wastage, that is common in osteoporosis patients on

Earth, is also an issue for astronauts. To combat it, many take the drug bisphosphonate

to counter the effects of bone loss. They also take supplements like calcium and vitamin

D, but the most effective counter to bone and muscle loss is lots and lots of exercise.

The future of space exploration will likely spawn a whole new sector in the pharmaceutical

market. If astronauts have problems sleeping (which is a common complaint while strapped

to your bed while speeding above Earth at over 17 THOUSAND miles per hour), they can

drop a sleeping pill. Feeling tired? Drop a Modafinil which, according to a 2009 Canadian

Medical Association Journal report, “is available to crew to optimize performance

while fatigued.”

Say if a crewmate starts acting erratic and becomes a danger to the rest of the crew?

Well, that’s why there are tranquilizers on board…. and duct tape. I’m not kidding.

So, medically-speaking, we’re still trying to figure this space thing out. Our bodies

are used to a gravitational environment with a 24-hour circadian cycle, not a microgravity

environment with a 90-minute orbital cycle, so there’s bound to be some problems.

But all these problems have surfaced while we live only a couple of hundred miles above

Earth -- how the heck are we going to deal with the health issues facing us when we finally

send astronauts to Mars?

During that long trip to Mars, our intrepid explorers will be bathed in radiation from

high-energy particles from the sun and deep space in the form of cosmic rays. When going

to Mars, we’ll need spaceships equipped with some novel radiation shielding, but even

then they’ll likely encounter a variety of unaccounted-for space radiation-related

cancers.

So, would I still want to be an astronaut? Actually, yes.

Humanity is really good at pushing the envelope and discovering new things about our universe.

The next big step is to see humanity on Mars and though it’s going to be a challenge,

I think we’ll persevere, develop some really strong space drugs and eventually become a

true space-faring civilization.

To maintain muscle mass and strength, astronauts have some pretty cool machines to work out

with, check out Lizette’s space fitness video to find out more!

Knowing that a mission to Mars could kill you, would you still want to go? Tell us in

the comments section down below and don’t forget click subscribe for new episodes every

day. I’ll see you next time on DNews.