Gravity, Hazard of Alteration

A

human journey to Mars, at first

glance, offers an inexhaustible amount of complexities. To bring a mission to

the Red Planet from fiction to fact, NASA’s Human Research Program has organized some of the hazards

astronauts will encounter on a continual basis into five classifications.

The variance of gravity fields that

astronauts will encounter on a mission to Mars is the fourth hazard.

On Mars, astronauts would need to

live and work in three-eighths of Earth’s gravitational pull for up to two

years. Additionally, on the six-month trek between the planets, explorers will

experience total weightlessness. 

Besides Mars and deep space there

is a third gravity field that must be considered. When astronauts finally

return home they will need to readapt many of the systems in their bodies to

Earth’s gravity.

To further complicate the problem,

when astronauts transition from one gravity field to another, it’s usually

quite an intense experience. Blasting off from the surface of a planet or a

hurdling descent through an atmosphere is many times the force of gravity.

Research is being conducted to

ensure that astronauts stay healthy before, during and after their mission.

Specifically researchers study astronauts’

vision, fine motor skills, fluid distribution, exercise protocols and response to

pharmaceuticals.

Exploration to the Moon and Mars will expose astronauts to five

known hazards of spaceflight, including gravity. To learn more, and find out

what NASA’s Human Research Program is doing to protect humans in

space, check out the “Hazards of Human Spaceflight" website.

Or, check out this week’s episode of “Houston

We Have a Podcast,” in which host Gary Jordan

further dives into the threat of gravity with Peter

Norsk,

Senior Research Director/ Element Scientist at

the Johnson Space Center.

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