Can the human body withstand long-term space traveling?

Beyond the moon that has reached so farA plan to send mankind to Mars was announcedAs you can see, there are situations where the plans to advance the universe of mankind, which had been stagnant for the past 40 years, can be expanded one after another. However, it takes years to travel to space in order to reach distant objects beyond the moon. A movie that summarizes the influences that occur in human beings in such space and what kinds of solutions can be thought of are disclosed.

Could we survive prolonged space travel? - Lisa Nip - YouTube


If you continue to stay in outer space for a long time, serious effects will appear on the human body.


It has already been found that bones and muscles degenerate by exposure to the environment of microgravity ... ...


Being in an environment with more radiation than on the ground, unknown changes may occur in the human body.


The space development is progressing and the era of mankind going to planets and the like farther than the moon over many years is arriving. It is a question of becoming a problem at this time whether it can adapt human body to the life in outer space for several years.


Creatures, including humans, are primarily equipped with the ability to adapt to a variety of environments. Thanks to its adaptability, it is possible for living creatures to survive even from hot to cold places on Earth, thin high altitudes such as air.


For example, when people who normally live in lowlands suddenly climb high mountains, the body screams.


In addition to breathing problems due to less oxygen in the air, problems such as blocking blood flow are caused by too much red blood cells in the blood. The so-called "altitude sickness" is one such problem.


However, if you live in a highland usually, you will not have problems in the same environment. This is because the body has adapted to the environment over a long period of time and living in a specific environment for generations, it has adapted to the environment at the genetic level.


By adapting to a specific environment, it has changed into a creature that can be said to be a "superman", so to speak ... ...


This change requires hundreds or thousands of years, or even longer.


However, there is no time for mankind who is about to jump out into space now. The idea is that artificially create "adaptation" by borrowing the power of science.


That is to say, manipulating genes of living things artificiallyGenetic Engineering"To change the characteristics of the body.


For example, very strong radiation is in flight in outer space compared to the Earth.


If you are living on the earth, the earth 's atmosphere and geomagnetism will weaken the radiation, so you can live without special defense.


However, in a spacecraft environment without radiation geomagnetism, creatures are exposed to strong radiation.


What will happen if a paradigm shift occurs that changes radiation from 'harmful' to 'using'? For example, many of living things generate a black pigment "melanin" when receiving ultraviolet rays from the sun. This is the cause of "suntan", to protect DNA from ultraviolet rays.


Some microorganisms use this dye to convert radiation into chemical energy.


If we can genetically engineer the human body as well, we can make the opposite change from radiation "no escape" to "take in" any more.


In that case, if you have a mechanism to protect DNA by using chemical energy, the problem of radiation will be solved.


However, discussions on safety and ethics are intensely exchanged with respect to adding genes to "genes of God", so it will take a long time to solve this problem.


Apart from the problem of radiation, the microgravity space of the universe also has a big influence on the human body.


Gravity of the Earth's surface is 1 G, whereas the gravity of 0.17 G in the moon and 2.5 G in the Jupiter works. Compared to this, if there is no celestial object around it its gravity is only 0.000001 G. This is a state that can be called "zero gravity" anymore.


In such an environment, the burden on the bones and muscles of the human body becomes extremely small. On the ground, cells of bone that have been damaged by force such as gravity are regenerated naturally, and a strong organization is made ... ...


In space and planets with little gravity, calcium will escape from the bones and the muscles will slim down.


The way to think about is to maintain a strong body even in outer space by secreting more substances that promote the regeneration of bones and muscles artificially by changing the workings of cells.


Alternatively, by applying "genetic engineering", it is possible to add changes such as secreting more regenerative substances when gravity becomes weaker.


It is also a fact that the problem of radiation and gravity we picked up here is only a small part of possible problems in outer space.


Although it is necessary to settle the ethics and safety arguments that are currently exchanged, the problem of the space environment that humankind will face in the future is that genetic engineering and cell engineering can solve many problems by solving many problems It is considered as one.


In the near future, it seems that human beings jumping out into space using these technologies is gradually becoming a reality scenario.