Can Human Beings Survive Long Term in Space Without Major Health Risks?

[Phobos]

FYI - The Planetary Society is asking for help to save some of NASA's programs...

On Thursday, February 16, the House Science Committee
will hold a hearing on the Administration's proposed
NASA 2007 budget. Although the fiscal year 2007 budget
does not take effect before October 2006, and Congress
has not even approved it, NASA has already begun canceling
2006 research projects and mission studies, including the
mission to Europa. Even programs Congress has voted into
law are being "delayed indefinitely".

Gone (delayed indefinitely, in NASA-speak):
Mission to Europa
Terrestrial Planet Finder
Mars Scout missions after 2011
Mars Sample Return
Mars Telecommunications Orbiter

Slashed (scaled back):
Astrobiology research -- down 50%
Research and analysis -- down 15%

http://planetary.org/programs/projects/space_advocacy/

 

[Vast]

http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/space_advocacy/budget_statement.html"

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19656"

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19647"

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19648"

 

[Vast]

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19658"

You can’t really blame Mike Griffin for the choices he’s made, he’s being put in a very difficult situation, basically what the Bush administration wants is the Shuttle program funded and the ISS completed as a first priority, and well they aren’t providing enough money for NASA to do that, so as a result other programs get cut.

 

[wolram]

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19658"

You can’t really blame Mike Griffin for the choices he’s made, he’s being put in a very difficult situation, basically what the Bush administration wants is the Shuttle program funded and the ISS completed as a first priority, and well they aren’t providing enough money for NASA to do that, so as a result other programs get cut.

Any thing that has human control is good for the media, but this may be the tip of the ice berg, has anyone in the know heard any thing about CERN
cut backs?

 

[Astronuc]

I haven't seen any news about cutbacks at CERN, but US is cutting back in DOE as well as NASA.

http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/45/3/6

But hey, we can certainly find $100 billion for the war in Iraq!

 

[russ_watters]

IMO, the terrestrial planet finder is (was) NASA's most important mission. Finding out if we are unique or alone is a huge deal and at the very least it could answer the first of those questions.

Not to be too political, but I predict that after Bush leaves office the Mars/moon missions will be scrapped and NASA will go back to some variant of the 'smaller/faster/cheaper' mantra that worked so well for the past few years.

I'm wondering about people's opinions of the shuttle and its potential replacements? Do we need a low Earth orbit manned vehicle? Is repairing/retrieving satellites something worth the money for sending astronauts? How about the experiments performed on it?

 

[wolram]

IMO, the terrestrial planet finder is (was) NASA's most important mission. Finding out if we are unique or alone is a huge deal and at the very least it could answer the first of those questions.

Not to be too political, but I predict that after Bush leaves office the Mars/moon missions will be scrapped and NASA will go back to some variant of the 'smaller/faster/cheaper' mantra that worked so well for the past few years.

I'm wondering about people's opinions of the shuttle and its potential replacements? Do we need a low Earth orbit manned vehicle? Is repairing/retrieving satellites something worth the money for sending astronauts? How about the experiments performed on it?

In my opinion, the shuttle is a total waste, vast of mounts of money has
to be spent on supporting human life, training astonaughts, etc.
This when scientists have to design other mission as cheaply as possible.

 

[finchie_88]

I think that it was a definite improvement to the craft used in the apollo missions, but its too old now, and NASA should be investing more in designing a replacement. Also, I think that the US should invest more in space travel, at least doubling NASA's current budget.

No, I don't think a low orbit craft with men on is really needed, robotics could be used instead, it would cost less, they don't need food, never sleep, and no one really makes that big a deal if they "die".

 

[Vast]

The more I hear about this the more it doesn’t make sense.

If the Bush administration wants to go back to the moon, but doesn’t want to pay for it (won’t give NASA the extra funding it needs) then that forces NASA to cut their science programs to pay for it. So now we have to debate whether human space flight is more important than science, which is pointless because both are important and neither should be made more important than the other.

Phil Plait discusses the budget cuts and George Deutsch on Paul Harris’s KMOX radio show: http://www.harrisonline.com/audio/philplait0206.mp3"

 

[wolram]

I question what the point of developing maned space flight is, at best we
can land a man on mars, any thing he achieves when he is there can surly
be done much cheeper with robotics, where else can a man be sent in space? asteriods may be, to set up ore extraction plants, i am sure the
political and commercial will to under take such an opperation will not come
about in this centuary.

 

[Vast]

I question what the point of developing maned space flight is, at best we
can land a man on mars, any thing he achieves when he is there can surly
be done much cheeper with robotics, where else can a man be sent in space? asteriods may be, to set up ore extraction plants, i am sure the
political and commercial will to under take such an opperation will not come
about in this centuary.

To a degree you’re correct. Technologically we probably do have the capability to put a man on Mars, but at what expense? This is the problem, the Mars/Moon vision is too grandiose, too expensive, and all to do with National pride.

But. There are good reasons for human space flight as well, setting up Moon Bases, a Mars base and mining asteroids (I read somewhere that a 300 meter asteroid would be worth $4 trillion) But the cost has to come down before we can do any of that, which means the technology has to mature, and the reason for going into space reasonable, otherwise going to Mars or the Moon is no different than a tourist trip.

 

[wolram]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-07-30-oberg_x.htm

NASA will not tell how much it costs.

 

[Alexander Demets]

In my opinion, the moon/mars missions are everything but important!
Human beeings are just not made for space! Roboters are way more effective, when it comes to these kinda things.

Most off the energy/time/costs on ISS is used by holding those people alive!

Much more things could be done, if roboters where used. So in my opinion NASA should concentrate on roboter/AI research and other way more important projects than Mars mission (or an odd moon visit)!

 

[quantumdude]

Human beeings are just not made for space!

We'd better adapt!

But, in the end, the surface of the planet will simply become too hot for life to survive. Earth-dwellers will have to find alternative homes in space, say astrophysicists in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1749389.stm

 

[Nereid]

Well, today I'm not too happy, and feel that the whole 'Man On Mars!', "Back To The Moon" thing was deeply cynical ... there was never any intention to do any of this, it was just a ploy to generate some excitement, and when the time (timing) is/was right, swift, sharp sword thrust to the heart (in this mode of thinking, the Bush team deserves more credit for their assiduous studies of Machiavelli, Sun Tse, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, etc than they're otherwise given credit for - you don't need to know anything about the cosmos, just go read the bible).

 

[Vast]

http://www.spacepolitics.com/"

Science on the hot seat next week

The House Science Committee is planning a hearing of the full committee on Thursday, March 2, at 10 am to discuss "NASA Science Mission Directorate: Impacts of the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Proposal". The witnesses scheduled to appear are:

* Dr. Mary Cleave, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Atmospheric Administration (NASA);
* Dr. Fran Bagenal, Member, National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Decadal Survey for Heliophysics (Sun-Earth Connections), The Sun to the Earth and Beyond, and Professor, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder;
* Dr. Wes Huntress, Member, NAS Decadal Survey for Solar System Exploration, New Frontiers in the Solar System, and Director, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington;
* Dr. Berrien Moore, Co-Chairman, NAS Decadal Survey for Earth Sciences, Earth Observations from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future, and Director, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire; and
* Dr. Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., Co-Chairman, NAS Decadal Survey for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium. Dr. Taylor is also is a Nobel Laureate and Distinguished Professor of Physics, Princeton University.

To say this should prove to be an interesting hearing is probably at least a mild understatement.

 

[AlphaNumeric]

Human beeings are just not made for space!

Human beings are just not made for living in extremely or hot areas of the planet, but we use inventions to make life there more comfortable. Perhaps in 100 years the same will be true of space (for a small percentage of the population).

 

[Astronuc]

Human beeings are just not made for space!

Human beings are just not made for living in extremely or hot areas of the planet, but we use inventions to make life there more comfortable. Perhaps in 100 years the same will be true of space (for a small percentage of the population).

The two major problems of long term habitation in space are: lack of gravity and radiation.

Lack of gravity results in deterioration of bone and muscle structure, which primarily function in response to resistance to gravity. People who are confined to a bed for long time will also suffer similar debilatating effects. Any children born is space will likely be confined to space because their bodies will be adapted to zero-g. Artificial gravity is has not yet been conclusively demonstrated as a remedy - there are not long term (years) experiments. People living long term in space might require pressure suits in order to return to a planet with gravity.

Radiation is inherent in space simply because space is full of charged particles, e.g. solar wind. Ionizing radiation damages cells. Young people (those with higher rates of mitosis) are particularly vulnerable to radiation, and that is why humans under the age of 18 are not supposed to be exposed to radiation unnecessarily. As people age, the ability to repare cellular damage decreases, particularly as age goes beyond the mid 40's.