Study recommends mandatory 3-year vacation so astronauts' brains can recover
(2023/06/12)
- Reference: 1686569589
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/12/astronaut_brain_recovery/
- Source link:
Scientists studying the brains of astronauts have discovered startling changes brought on by microgravity that has led them to recommend a three-year break between missions.
The [1]study , published last week in Scientific Reports, looked at the brains of 30 astronauts before and after space travel, determining that the brain's cerebrospinal fluid-filled ventricles expand anywhere from 11 percent to an additional quarter of their original size the closer astronauts get to the six-month mark of their missions.
While the expansion tapers off around the six-month mark, it doesn't necessarily end, said Rachael Seidler, one of the study's authors and a professor of applied physiology at the University of Florida.
[2]
"Many astronauts travel to space more than one time, and our study shows it takes about three years between flights for the ventricles to fully recover," Seidler [3]said . It's not all bad news, though: "We were happy to see that the changes don't increase exponentially, considering we will eventually have people in space for longer periods."
[4]
[5]
Complementing Seidler's team's discovery is previous findings which determined that spaceflight causes an "upward shift of the brain within the skull," leading to "cortical crowding and narrowing of the sulci at the top of the brain" that can be seen in a shift of gray matter volume at the top of the brain and a decrease at the base.
With that in mind, Seidler and company are urging caution. "We don't yet know for sure what the long-term consequences of this is on the health and behavioral health of space travelers, so allowing the brain time to recover seems like a good idea," the professor said.
Not something we can just get used to
The study also looked at whether experienced and novice astronauts (defined as those that have or have not been to space, respectively) displayed any differences in their brains. If so, that would suggest gray matter changes caused by microgravity would be something humans could adapt to.
Unfortunately for our hopes of becoming an extraplanetary species, that doesn't appear to be the case.
[6]Virgin Galactic flies final test before opening for business
[7]China joins US and Europe in considering 3D-printed Moon bases
[8]NASA names astronauts picked for next Artemis Moon test flight
[9]Reg fashion: Here's what the well-dressed astronaut will wear on the Moon in 2025
Of the 30 astronauts surveyed, 18 had been to space prior to the study, while 12 were studied before and after their first flight. "Whole-brain analyses revealed no statistically reliable associations between post-flight changes … and whether a crewmember was a novice or experienced flyer," the team wrote in their report.
One thing the team did notice was a change in how free water, cerebrospinal fluid and other liquid in the brain, didn't move as freely in the brains of astronauts who had been to space more than once, which may be harmful rather than a positive adaptation.
[10]
"Ventricular expansion during spaceflight may be compensatory, allowing the brain to accommodate fluid shifts towards the head that occur in microgravity," the researchers reported. Among astronauts who had made multiple trips to space, those that had less than three years of recovery between missions "showed little to no enlargement" of their brain ventricles following their mission, while those with more than a three-year gap between voyages showed expansion on return.
"With human spaceflight becoming more frequent and lengthy, these findings provide important insight … and suggest potential guidelines for future mission planning," the researchers concluded.
The rich need not worry, though. There aren't any appreciable brain changes for those that are in space for less than two weeks, so orbital tourism is still go for those with the means to get there. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33331-8
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://news.ufl.edu/2023/06/brain-and-space-travel/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/26/virgin_galactic_pulls_off_last/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/25/china_3d_printing_moon/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/03/nasa_artemis_ii_crew/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/16/artemis_lunuar_spacesuits/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The [1]study , published last week in Scientific Reports, looked at the brains of 30 astronauts before and after space travel, determining that the brain's cerebrospinal fluid-filled ventricles expand anywhere from 11 percent to an additional quarter of their original size the closer astronauts get to the six-month mark of their missions.
While the expansion tapers off around the six-month mark, it doesn't necessarily end, said Rachael Seidler, one of the study's authors and a professor of applied physiology at the University of Florida.
[2]
"Many astronauts travel to space more than one time, and our study shows it takes about three years between flights for the ventricles to fully recover," Seidler [3]said . It's not all bad news, though: "We were happy to see that the changes don't increase exponentially, considering we will eventually have people in space for longer periods."
[4]
[5]
Complementing Seidler's team's discovery is previous findings which determined that spaceflight causes an "upward shift of the brain within the skull," leading to "cortical crowding and narrowing of the sulci at the top of the brain" that can be seen in a shift of gray matter volume at the top of the brain and a decrease at the base.
With that in mind, Seidler and company are urging caution. "We don't yet know for sure what the long-term consequences of this is on the health and behavioral health of space travelers, so allowing the brain time to recover seems like a good idea," the professor said.
Not something we can just get used to
The study also looked at whether experienced and novice astronauts (defined as those that have or have not been to space, respectively) displayed any differences in their brains. If so, that would suggest gray matter changes caused by microgravity would be something humans could adapt to.
Unfortunately for our hopes of becoming an extraplanetary species, that doesn't appear to be the case.
[6]Virgin Galactic flies final test before opening for business
[7]China joins US and Europe in considering 3D-printed Moon bases
[8]NASA names astronauts picked for next Artemis Moon test flight
[9]Reg fashion: Here's what the well-dressed astronaut will wear on the Moon in 2025
Of the 30 astronauts surveyed, 18 had been to space prior to the study, while 12 were studied before and after their first flight. "Whole-brain analyses revealed no statistically reliable associations between post-flight changes … and whether a crewmember was a novice or experienced flyer," the team wrote in their report.
One thing the team did notice was a change in how free water, cerebrospinal fluid and other liquid in the brain, didn't move as freely in the brains of astronauts who had been to space more than once, which may be harmful rather than a positive adaptation.
[10]
"Ventricular expansion during spaceflight may be compensatory, allowing the brain to accommodate fluid shifts towards the head that occur in microgravity," the researchers reported. Among astronauts who had made multiple trips to space, those that had less than three years of recovery between missions "showed little to no enlargement" of their brain ventricles following their mission, while those with more than a three-year gap between voyages showed expansion on return.
"With human spaceflight becoming more frequent and lengthy, these findings provide important insight … and suggest potential guidelines for future mission planning," the researchers concluded.
The rich need not worry, though. There aren't any appreciable brain changes for those that are in space for less than two weeks, so orbital tourism is still go for those with the means to get there. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33331-8
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://news.ufl.edu/2023/06/brain-and-space-travel/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/26/virgin_galactic_pulls_off_last/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/25/china_3d_printing_moon/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/03/nasa_artemis_ii_crew/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/16/artemis_lunuar_spacesuits/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIdBH2z8aihX5Y3vemR89gAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
steelpillow
Yes, absolutely. But how do you build such a thing out of old second stages and a few clever bits? Time to invest in inflatable donuts.
Tubes in space!
Anonymous Coward
I heard about people planning to use the Starship body to as ad-hoc space stations, but I think that's missing the point.
SpaceX has demonstrated that with a roll of steel and a robotic welder you can make a tube.
Starship uses quite thick steel, a space station would probably be fine with 1mm steel.
Starship can launch 150 tons if I remember correctly.
So my space station plan is to have 3 tubes one inside the other. The outer tube is to protect against impacts, the 2 inner tubes would ideally be filled with water to protect against radiation.
Water from an asteroid, of course.
Connect these 3-tube sections with airlock sections, make into a ring, spin for effect.
Reduced gravity
David M
I wonder how this would affect those in reduced (but not micro) gravity, e.g. in a Lunar colony at one-sixth g.
Re: Reduced gravity
Korev
They'd become Lunartics
spold
On holiday, and spaced out, being paid for it.....
elawyn
Certainly a job I'd happily do. one Two week mission, followed by three years paid vacation!
Unfortunately for our hopes of becoming an extraplanetary species, that doesn't appear to be the case.
So we need rotating craft to provide an artificial gravity-like environment to make it comfortable long term. As seen on a few Sci-fi films already...