American experts reported that they managed to come up with a new way to send astronauts to Mars. According to scientists, they will put them into a state of "therapeutic numbness" for this for a period of 3 to 6 months. As a result, astronauts will be able to fly to the Red Planet without risking their lives, so that they can immediately begin to study it there.
Science fiction has always attracted interest, and today there are many fans of the "Space Odyssey", as well as the idea of a flight to Mars, where no man has ever set foot. And now, it seems, their fantasies are starting to come true. And experts from the NASA space agency will help in this. As one of the researchers at SpaceWorks John Bradford told reporters, mankind has long dreamed of flying to Mars, but earlier such conversations were just dreams.
However, NASA is now determined to accelerate this process. In particular, recently in Toronto, agency experts presented at the International Space Congress a unique technology that can accelerate the conquest of Mars. With her, it will be much easier and cheaper for people to get to the Red Planet. Although, to achieve this goal, astronauts will have to make some sacrifices for the sake of science. As stated by American scientists, during the flight to Mars, the astronauts will have to experience a state of "therapeutic numbness", which is almost no different from lethargic sleep.
It is worth noting that the state of "therapeutic numbness" was studied by scientists in the early 1980s. However, it was only used in practice in 2003 exclusively for the treatment of patients with severe brain injuries. However, previously, a person had never been left in such a state for more than a week. Meanwhile, scientists plan to put the astronauts to sleep for a period of 3 to 6 months.
Introduce the future conquerors of Mars into lethargic sleep, scientists plan to use a special liquid cooling gas supplied through the nose. Thus, within six hours, the astronauts' body temperature will be lowered from the normal human body temperature of 36.6 degrees to 32 degrees. After stopping the gas supply, the crew members will wake up already at their destination.
The astronauts will receive food intravenously throughout the period of their lethargic sleep. Electrical stimulants will force the muscles to contract throughout the flight. This will allow the crew members to maintain their physical strength and ability to move after traveling 560 million miles separating the Earth from the Red Planet.
According to American scientists, the use of this method will allow astronauts to immediately start scientific research after they land on Mars. There is also a strong economic argument. According to SpaceWorks research, the space shuttle can be reduced by a factor of five for sleeping people. Also, the amount of food and water consumed by astronauts in a dream is reduced by three times. All equipment necessary for the flight to the Red Planet will be reduced from 400 to 220 tons. According to Joan Bradford, these are very weighty arguments for delivering humans to Mars from an economic point of view.
Also, NASA experts are working in another direction, allowing the space station to adapt to the creation of artificial gravity and to reduce the weight of the bones and muscles of astronauts. In addition, this study examines the possibility of short-term interruption of hibernation periods. Scientists believe that a person can stay awake for two or three days before falling asleep for two weeks. In the future, scientists plan to conduct additional research to find out the safety and feasibility of this method of flying to Mars.
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