Many people know the scene from science fiction films: flying up to a distant star, astronauts, placed in special capsules, come out of a state of deep sleep. Now scientists want to turn this idea into reality and plan to find out if it is actually possible to induce hibernation in humans.
HISPCHA WILL HELP
Researchers believe that hibernation can help astronauts cope with the complexities of travel for several years.
Shot from the fantastic film "Alien" (1979)
After all, such a long space expedition will require colossal resources to support human life and the process of utilizing carbon dioxide and other waste products. In addition to food, it will be necessary to provide constant access to "expensive" oxygen.
And since sleeping passengers require less space and food, the spacecraft will be lighter and easier to launch. Experts are now studying the effects of hydrogen sulfide on the body. They found that this gas slows down the metabolic process in mice without disrupting blood flow in the brain.
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Another line of research is associated with a special substance - DADLE - with opium-like properties. Its introduction into the body makes ground squirrels hibernate even in summer, when they are usually active.
One of the hypothetical options for finding astronauts in a state of hibernation - a period of slowing down of life processes and metabolism - scientists also associate with the study of hibernation of baribals (American black bears).
THE ORGANISM OF COSMONAUTS NEEDS TO "REFINE"
However, there are other, no less serious, problems that hinder long-term space missions. American doctors recently examined 27 astronauts who returned to Earth after being in space, and found they have unexplained deformities of the eyeballs, optic nerves and pituitary gland. Some of them began to see worse, while others, on the contrary, had improved vision.
“If we want to continue our space exploration and fly beyond Earth's orbit, it would be good to know if these deformations are a severe side effect that will have to be dealt with or prevented, or if this is a normal adaptation process in space,” says Volker Daman of the European space agency.
Shot from the fantastic film "Avatar" (2009)
He believes that only a serious study will help clarify the risks that astronauts will be exposed to when traveling to Mars or other distant planets.
And they can be quite large, warns Vyacheslav Shurshakov, head of the laboratory at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Astronauts who go to Mars will have to remove or replace some organs with artificial ones, he said.
“Man, as a species, was formed on Earth, so he is not prepared for long-distance space flights by the entire course of his evolution,” the scientist told Interfax. - For flights to other planets, no matter how sinful it may seem, the human body should be slightly modified, improved. A person has organs that are most susceptible to radiation, which will need to be removed, replaced with artificial ones."
In particular, Shurshakov asks the question, “if in the case of high-energy particles hitting the crystal of the eye, the astronaut develops a cataract, then maybe before the flight to replace the astronaut's lens with an artificial one?
Another particularly sensitive area that can be damaged by the entry of a high-energy particle is in the brain. Disruption of this zone can lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease in the astronaut.
Gennady Fedotov