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from the just-stay-horizontal-and-wear-tight-spandex dept.
New research brings more bad news to astronauts thinking about long-haul space flights as spinal muscles shrink after months in space, scientists have found.
Floating around in space in an environment with little or no gravity is not good for the human body. Along with decreased bone density, nausea, a puffy face, possible cognitive deterioration, an astronaut's back starts to weaken too.
The research is part of NASA's wider project to study the physical effects space has on the body to prepare for long-haul flights to Mars.
Results from the NASA-funded research have been published in Spine, and show spinal damage persists months after the astronauts return to Earth.
Six NASA crew members were subjected to MRI scans before and after spending four to seven months floating around the microgravity conditions of the International Space Station.
NASA should send the astronauts into space with one of those inversion tables so they can hang upside down.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 27 2016, @09:55PM
...but I've seen photos of in-orbit folks on the treadmill up there.
They use springs attached to a body harness to add resistance.
and wouldn't help strengthen the back anyway
Yeah, I'd like to see the simple rig that -will- do that.
As a previous comment noted, that was likely an attempt at mirth.
Now, even with Mars' 0.38g, ISTM that spinning the interplanetary vehicle to achieve appreciable gravity during the trip is a healthy way to go.
A tethered arrangement with a living space on one end and a counterweight/supply pod on the other would cut the cost relative to a complete ring structure.
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday October 27 2016, @10:52PM
I'd go for padded harness over the shoulders with rubber ties to the "ground". Do a hundred squats to put pressure down the spine and the legs...
I know that adding a kid a third of my weight on my shoulders is a decent exercise, so having springy stuff emulating half your body weight would be a start.
> A tethered arrangement with a living space on one end and a counterweight/supply pod on the other
"Hang on to your stomachs, guys, I'm roping it in to get more salt for dinner tonight! Weeeeeee!!!!"
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday October 28 2016, @12:19AM
Martian Women have an interesting adaptation to the problem, their backs are stronger than human woman because they have three [mondocine.net] breasts rather than just two. The extra support as a result of that adaptation counteracts the effects of different gravity on their physiology.