Many of us love sleeping while travelling, but only few of us get to visit the space. What if we could do all this at once! Fascinating, right?
Scientific studies by the European Space Agency (ESA) suggest that sleeping during space missions could be the ideal way to conduct cost-effective journeys. This human hibernation technique will also help to reduce the size of spacecraft by a third and keep the crew healthy.
This game-changing study has been published in the journal Science Direct. According to the study, long duration space visits to Mars will lay extreme physical and psychological stress on the crew. It also affirms that such missions will build major logistical and technical challenges for life support and transportation.
Researchers have suggested making soft-shell pods with appropriate settings which have a quiet environment with low lights. Further, they suggest that the low temperature should be less than 10 degree Celsius and high humility so that astronauts can hibernate.
While the crew rests on long-journeys, artificial intelligence will function amidst anomalies and emergencies.
Why is it important to sleep?
As per the European Space Agency, space engineers carry along two years’ worth of food and water for the crew while packing for a return flight to the Red Planet. This implies about 30 kilograms per astronaut per day. Besides that an active crew is also exposed to the threat of radiation and mental and psychological problems.
Based on research, the biology of hibernation reduces metabolism thereby leading to increased stress. They claim that reducing the metabolic rate of a crew on route to Mars to 25 per cent of the normal state will significantly reduce the amount of supplies and habitat size. By doing so, one can improve the feasibility of long-duration exploration.
As per the European Space Agency, the concept of hibernations is being used in hospitals since the 1980s. Doctors there can induce hypothermia to decrease the metabolic rate of patients who need long and complex surgeries. Notably, this isn’t a major reduction of energy.
Hibernate like animals
The idea of hibernation takes cues from animals, including bears, frogs, tardigrades, reptiles, who hibernate during extreme weather conditions. This hibernation helps them to survive periods of cold and food or water scarcity, reduces their heart rate and helps them to do everyday tasks better.
Considering their body mass, bears are considered as the best role model for human hibernation in space. They reduce their body temperature only by a few degrees a limit considered safe for humans.
According to professor of Medicine at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich - Alexander Choukér, "Research shows that bears exit their den healthily in spring with only marginal loss of muscle mass. It only takes them about 20 days to be back to normal. This teaches us that hibernation prevents disuse atrophy of muscle and bone and protects against tissue damage”.
