A NASA-funded study has shown that spacecraft can travel vast distances if there is no need to support human life. The technology to make this possible could be obtained over the next three decades.
Spaceworks, commissioned by the space agency, is working on this sci-fi idea and believes a common medical procedure could be used to put a person to sleep for days.
Spaceworks engineer Doug Tolk said that "people are already being put to sleep, a medical condition called therapeutic hypothermia."
Researchers believe that cooling the body can be used to induce people into an extended state of suspended animation known as "lethargic sleep."
In order for the organs to remain in a state of cooling, they should not be subjected to any stress, however, the body will need nutrition. Robotic mechanisms will provide sleeping people with everything they need to keep them alive.
In the process of driving a person into a state of suspended animation, called RhinoChill, coolant is sprayed into the brain, gradually lowering body temperature. After six hours of RhinoChill, humans would be ready for a mission to Mars.
Water, nutrients, anti-anxiety medications and small electrical shocks will support the body and help prevent muscle wasting.
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Doug Tolk says that a person awakened from deep sleep is likely to be sleepy for several days and often asleep before he can go about his business.
American surgeon Peter Rhea has received permission to begin human trials of the technique of emergency medical introduction into suspended animation.