Are HUMANS too fragile to SURVIVE the rigours of long periods in SPACE?

Question

Space is a hazordous environment. There is no oxygen, food or water needed for life. As well as that the distances are huge and people don't live upto a 1000 years. There's radiation and the risks of collisions with asteroids. Also the damage to mental health is a real possibility, such as being home sick

What are scientists doing to overcome these problems?

Answer 1

Nothing, and for a really long time.

Answer 2

All of the problems you brought up are very true (except asteroid collisions are easy to avoid, they aren't as tightly packed as you might think).

Some scientists think that growing our own food and recycling air and water could help beat that problem, although there would still need to be large stores of these on board. There is not much we can do about our short lifespans and the expanse of space other than hope that we learn enough about hybernation (crygenic sleep) to use that someday, or we discover the universe's cheat sheet and can use things like wormholes to hop around in the even more distant future. Radiation is a huge problem... while we are able to make up in part for a lack of atmosphere with shielding on our current vehicles, further from the Earth, outside of our magnetic field there would be even more radiation and over a long period of time this would start to cause cancers and similar ailments. Mental health is an issue on these long trips because you are couped up in a small space with the same few people for a very long period of time and as you move away from the Earth communication becomes more of a pain. One idea I've heard of to combat this is to have a digital psychiatrist onboard.

Basically it's still a huge pain in the *** and we need to spend a lot more money on research in psychology, biology, physics, astrophysics and materials science if we want to explore beyond the backs of our eyelids in the near future.

Answer 3

Your concerns are pretty accurate - space is an environment with lots of challenges (1.) But it is something else to conclude that we're "too fragile" to survive or even prosper in space.

One cosmonaut, at least, has survived for over a year in orbit. Valeri Polyakov stayed aboard Mir for some 14 months in one trip. This was back in 1994-1995. (2.)

But low orbit is one thing... beyond the van Allen belts, we'll have to have mondo radiation shielding if we ever expect to establish communities in space. In short, we'll have to make whereever we settle just like Earth if we're to live there. Not easy.

Sort of begs the question - why go? We can overcome any physical obstacle, short of violating physical law. Why would we go to the effort - that is the real question.

I take a cue from the history of biology. Life evolved in the ocean... up to about 300 million years ago, the land was barren. Can you imagine - the terrestrial surface must have been like a huge, barren desert.

No food was here. It was hard to get around - you don't need legs in the ocean! There was far less protection from solar radiation outside of the sea.

And yet, life spread from the oceans.

Answer 4

A generation ship is a popular science fiction theme (for example "Seed of Light" by Edmund Cooper), where the crew's children are the next crew. Hydroponics and recycling can maintain the vital environment. Axial rotation can provide enough artificial gravity. Superconducting magnetic coils could generate local Van Allen belts for radiation shielding. If it is technically possible to do it, then sooner or later it will be done.

Answer 5

When Stephenson was building the Rocket and other engineers were similarly engaged in designing early steam locomotives, their peers in other sciences assured anyone who would listen that the human body would be reduced to jelly at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour so that the steam locomotive was unworkable as a means of transport.

The fragility of the human frame is still vastly over-emphasised by peope who seem to delight in instilling fear in their fellows. Selection and training will overcome most obstacles, sheer stubborness will overcome even more.

Answer 6

I think you have answered your own question.

Man is far too fragile. A radiograher, even if the x-ray is for a broken finger, hides behind a lead screen and the, low, exposure is only for a few seconds. What about years in space?
It does`nt bear thinking about.

Answer 7

The real problem is lack of gravity. Your muscles and organs can atrophy as you don't need to use them as much as you would when on earth. Whilst you'd be fine in space, when returning to earth you need a training regime to regain strength. Look at the ISS astronauts on returning after several months up there...

Answer 8

well as all i know that space is a vacuum there is nothing, nothing out there in space except for terrestrial bodies.
while in space without an astronaut uniform the force inside the body will move upward causing the body to explode

that's all for now

Answer 9

There are these things called 'space-ships'. You go inside them, and you have all the food and water you need, they protect you from radiation, and there's an X-box so you don't go insane. You just have to watch out for asteroids and comets, and stay out of their way.

Answer 10

I'm not sure about that, but I am pretty sure that space is too fragile to survive the rigors of long periods of humans.

Answer 11

once man develops the things they need to survive out there i,m sure they will try to live in space