
On the devastating effects of a year in space - hunglee2
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/north-america/astronaut-scott-kelly-on-the-devastating-effects-of-a-year-in-space-20170922-gyn9iw.html
======
baddox
I’m a little confused why only 48 hours after his return from space, he’s
sleeping at home with his girlfriend and debating whether to take aspirin or
go to the emergency room. I would have expected significant medical attention
for much longer than 48 hours, given that this was the primary purpose for his
extended stay on the ISS.

~~~
njharman
The man just gave a year of his life. I expect NASA has a strong fairness and
mental health reasons to reunite him with his family and loved ones as quickly
as possible. Allowing him to spend his 3rd night back on earth at home seems
like a small price for science to pay.

~~~
davidbanham
For sure, with the added instruction "Hey dude if your legs blow up like
balloons and you come out in a weird rash call this number, k?"

------
simplicio
Interesting start to the article, but kind of annoyed I read to the end to
find its basically a teaser for Kelly's book, and the stuff about his health
problems etc. is never followed up on. Wish they'd at least put that at the
top of the article.

~~~
devb
It worked on me, I'm looking forward to buying the book. Is this the first
time you've come across an excerpt teaser on the internet?

~~~
jessriedel
It's basically just clickbait on a different scale. Clickbait doesn't stop
being annoying just because it's common.

~~~
abrowne
It's a long enough article for me. I feel satisfied reading it without now
needing to read the book.

------
jpatokal
> But very little is known about what occurs after month six. The symptoms may
> get precipitously worse in the ninth month, for instance, or they may level
> off. We don't know, and there is only one way to find out.

Actually, there's a second way: call Valery Polyakov.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov)

Or a whole bunch of other Mir veterans:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Avdeyev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Avdeyev)

~~~
gwern
Probably not all the relevant data would've been recorded, and as far as Kelly
goes, it's not every day that you have an identical twin to serve as the
control!

~~~
rbanffy
Still, the conditions he described at the end of the article would sure be
present. I remember a Mir astronaut that couldn't sleep with anything heavier
than the lighhtest blanket.

------
ilamont
Based on the experience of cosmonauts who spent long periods of time on
various Mir missions in the 1980s and 1990s, what is the long-term impact of
staying in zero-gravity space for so long? If they lost bone mass, the walls
of their hearts became thinner, and they received the equivalent of 10 chest
X-rays daily over hundreds of days in space, are they experiencing
debilitating effects 20 or 30 years later?

~~~
martyvis
Given that lack of gravity seems to be a major risk factor for well-being I'm
surprised a static structure like the ISS doesn't yet have a rotating
centrifuge-like structure ala 2001: A Space Oddysey to at least ward off the
effects during sleep and downtime

~~~
chrishacken
There actually was a proposal for one.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus-X)

There's also this issue:

"Another problem is that we do know of adverse effects that arise at high
rotational rates of speed. The Coriolis Effect has to do with rotating
reference frames and it can seriously screw with the inner ear. The only way
to maintain a strong centrifugal gravity while keeping rotational speed low is
to lengthen the system as a whole — but the ISS isn’t nearly big enough."

Source: [https://www.geek.com/news/geek-answers-why-doesnt-the-iss-
ha...](https://www.geek.com/news/geek-answers-why-doesnt-the-iss-have-
artificial-gravity-1563351/)

~~~
WalterBright
One way to make it "big enough" is to put a weight on the end of a long cable,
and spin the combination. It wouldn't need to be a full g either, some should
be a lot better than nothing.

With a cable, though, there might be weird problems with oscillations.

~~~
jessriedel
Yea, I think tethers in space are still considered quite tricky.

~~~
WalterBright
One alternative is to replace the cable with a rigid tube, and then have
living quarters at both ends. The tube is big enough for an astronaut to pass
through. Sort of a one spoke section of a spoked wheel.

------
_ph_
This is why people like Scott Kelly should be considered heroes. They are
pushing our knowledge about manned spaceflight, and doing to at considerable
personal risk and effort. But as a result, we are getting more knowledgeable
about the problems, and hopefully solution approaches. That stays on the ISS
of 6 months or even a year are somewhat a routine is quite an achievement. And
we might find out, how to do even longer stays in zero gravity. With these
results we then can set mission limits for a potential Mars mission. Of course
one obvious solution would be to fly faster. Musk hinted at his BFR
presentations of a 3 month flight time which would be less than the routine
stays on the ISS.

~~~
agumonkey
I still wonder if Musk considered effect of months in space on the average
person.

~~~
crush-n-spread
Musk knows that it is not the ideal environment for human health. But Musk
also knows that the rate-limiting step is not human health in space, but the
cost of getting to space. We can not move forward in making a healthy
environment for humans in space if we're not putting hundreds of ambitious,
fearless humans in space at low cost per human.

------
everyone
Astronauts always seem to be these clean-cut godfearing family-men types.

Maybe antisocial misanthropic weirdos would be better suited.

From a psychological perspective. They wouldnt miss family/friends, and might
enjoy living on spacefood.

~~~
njharman
All the Air Force and Navy pilot ones are. The officer corps in both is
extremely conservative and traditional. To the point that if you're not
married you have difficult time rising to the mid/upper ranks.

------
rbanffy
A lot of this seems gravity-related. The answer is relatively simple: if we
are going to Mars, use a rotating spaceship (or one with an internal
centrifugr).

The SLS Block 1B can carry rigid cargo that's up to 10m wide and the BFR seems
to be able to carry up to 9. That's enough for an internal centrifuge
astronauts could spend lots of time in, only moving to the zero-g areas out of
it when needed. If we think about inflatable modules, the space becomes even
larger.

I wonder if a centrifuge could be added to the ISS or if the vibration would
be too much of a problem.

------
larkeith
It should be noted that, in Mars' reduced gravity, it can be presumed the
symptoms would be lessened. Still a major concern, however.

~~~
craftyguy
I don't think the concern is about gravitational conditions once you're on
Mars, but the long trip to and from Mars (18 months each way, best case with
current technology).

Edit: I was wrongly thinking 18mo each way when it's closer to 18mo-ish round
trip. Sorry internet armchair soldiers.

~~~
product50
Where are you reading this? It is seven months each way as per the following:
[https://www.mars-one.com/faq/mission-to-mars/how-long-
does-i...](https://www.mars-one.com/faq/mission-to-mars/how-long-does-it-take-
to-travel-to-mars)

~~~
craftyguy
Yes, you are right. I goofed up.

------
QAPereo
...And this is why Mars for colonists is still very much a turgid fantasy. We
need to dream less, and commit more to the hard and expensive org of solving
these problems. Step 1: stop stripping NASA down to bare metal.

Here’s some possible insight into the impact of radiation on their brains:
[http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/05/space-radiation-
may-d...](http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/05/space-radiation-may-damage-
astronauts-brains) this is in addition to bones, muscles, eyes, etc.

Edit: the prevalence of downvotes and the lack of a coherent argument is
painfully telling. Remember that you have to _get_ to Mars as well.

Edit re product50: Can’t do this one very specific thing, for good reasons,
and only for now. Hint! If your magic trick requires that all of the skeptics
leave the room, it’s not magic, it’s a con.

~~~
valuearb
Stripping NASA down to bare metal? The same NASA that’s spending over $2B a
launch to build the SLS, when they could buy the same capacity from private
launch companies at less than 1/10th the cost?

And radiation is not a significant threat, we will have hundreds if not
thousands of qualified astronauts fighting over being one of the first to take
the relatively minor radiation risks to be the first to go.

~~~
QAPereo
_we will have hundreds if not thousands of qualified astronauts fighting over
being one of the first to take the relatively minor radiation risks to be the
first to go_

Same with the age of sail, which claimed many lives, often for the dubious
benefit of a few wealthy assholes who never touched a ship.

Are you volunteering to be first to Mars?

~~~
valuearb
Nope, i’m not qualified. Anyone who dies will do it with their eyes open.

Let’s put it this way. If we can land explorers on Mars for $100B at a 5% risk
of death, or spent $1 trillion to reduce that risk to 1%, should we wait
decades to find funding for the safer plan?

------
SCAQTony
The first three paragraphs sound like he is a PTSD victim from a forgotten
war. The next seven, like a nerve gas victim. With all this in mind.

This si more than a red flag for space travel, more has to be done before we
even consider establishing a base anywhere off-world. Till then, probes and
asteroid mining seem more profitable, safe and mind expanding.

~~~
chrismealy
People don't want to accept the truth about humans in space.

~~~
SCAQTony
I so agree. It would be more worthwhile to terraform the Australian outback or
Gobi desert and put a forest and settlers there than oxygenated domes on Mars.
Not to say that space exploration should never be an agenda, but rather we
select projects that have a national or scientific ROI with little to no harm
caused to any individual.

------
chrismealy
The space station is just in low earth orbit. Radiation is a lot worse in real
space.

------
FierceLog
Use it or lose it applies to the human body.

And they're stumped? Wow.

