What happens in space that causes the body to change? Learn about life
in space from astronauts
Is the human body built for Mars? NASA's studies on the International
Space Station show we need to fix a few things before sending people to
the Red Planet. Astronauts go into space with good vision and come back
needing eyeglasses. Cognition and DNA expression could be affected for
years. And then there's the discomfort of living in a tight space with
crewmates, depression, and separation from the people you love.
Space doctors are on the case. You'll meet the first twin to spend a
year in space, the woman who racked up three physically challenging
spacewalks in between 320 days of confinement, and the cosmonaut who was
temporarily stranded on space station Mir while the Soviet Union broke
up underneath him. What are we learning about the human body?
As astronauts target moon missions and eventual landings on Mars, one of
the major questions is how the human body will behave in "partial
gravity." How does the human body change on another world, as opposed to
floating freely in microgravity? What can studies on Earth and in space
tell us about planetary exploration? These questions will be important
to the future of space exploration and to related studies of seniors and
people with reduced mobility on Earth.
