Unfortunately, the lack of gravity in space means that astronauts suffers from some health problems causes. So much so that these problems are unpredictable and quite numerous.

Bride, changes in the health status of astronauts let’s see.

The lack of gravity in space causes muscles and bones to weaken.

Especially the muscles that enable the body to stand upright, It loses its function in space and begins to shrink rapidly. This muscle mass can decrease by 20% within two weeks, and up to 30% during longer missions.

Bone mass similarly decreases by 1-2% every month, and that applies to astronauts too They can lose 10% of their bone mass after a six-month mission. For this reason, astronauts do strength exercises nearly 2.5 hours a day while in orbit and adhere to nutritional routines aimed at muscle development.

Despite all these precautions, it is unfortunately not possible to prevent muscle loss.

In addition, it is very difficult to maintain body mass in a zero-gravity environment. Although NASA tries to provide astronauts with nutritious food, weight loss is a common problem. For example, after 340 days on the ISS, Scott Kelly He lost 7% of his body weight.

The blood flow in space is also disrupted by gravity. This is the body fluid retention and visual impairment can cause. For this reason, astronauts may experience structural changes in the eyes and vision problems over time.

Some of these changes may even be permanent. Earth’s atmosphere helps protect us from these problems, but once the space station enters orbit This protection disappears.

Long-term space missions also cause changes in the brain.

Neural connections in the movement, balance and orientation parts of the brain can be affected. Also in brain tissue Problems such as fluid retention can also occur. These changes can take up to 3 years to return to their previous state.

In addition, during the time spent in space, astronauts intestinal bacteria and fungi varies considerably. The reason for these changes is; astronauts’ diet, radiation exposure and use of recycled water.

During a one-year stay in space, the immune system will not be critically affected if a healthy diet and exercise routine are followed. Due to the radiation doses astronauts receive while in orbit, The number of white blood cells decreases.

In addition, at the end of each DNA strand is a protein that is thought to help protect our genes from damage. There are structures called telomeres. It is known that the telomeres of astronauts who spent more than 1 year in space are much shorter after spaceflight. The reason for this has not yet been determined.

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