Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Life in Space- Problems to Ponder


My other blogs are:
Life in Space
Problems to Ponder
Gravity and air pressure are vital to everyday life, yet if astronauts were to be launched into space these two factors that people take for granted in their everyday lives would become fatal issues if left unresolved prior to long term space travel. The thing is, it's actually earth's air pressure and gravity that hold blood and guts under the skin, but most people do not know this...they think their skin holds their guts in, which is dead wrong. The skin does virtually nothing to hold human bodies together, but rather is merely a shield against harmful elements that exist outside of the human body. While people talk about how scientists need to find special fuels to power their wild spaceship designs, actual NASA employees are trying to develop ways to simply live in outer space at all, let alone to fly at near-light speeds in fancy antimatter powered starships.
In fact, interstellar space travel is hardly being talked about anymore now that scientists have discovered that even the most basic voyage would end in catastrophe since living in space is not possible yet, so even if humanity developed warp technology and could sail the cosmos like in Star Trek, it would still end in catastrophe if some of the most basic issues were not properly met. The two biggest hurdles faced in space travel for any period of time is the simple fact that contrary to sci-fi novels and movies, gravity and air pressure are not generally capable of being artificially produced (like centrifugal gravity), and generating the exact amount of air pressure to mimic earth's atmosphere pressing down upon the human body by artificial means would be not be energy efficient, assuming it is possible at all. Unfortunately, there is no one who can live in outer space for a lengthy period of time since the average person would most likely get sick immediately and astronauts (though trained and toughened) must face the music someday and come back to earth or risk shortening their life due to all the strenuous problems their bodies will be put through. Trained astronauts can only survive in outer space for short periods of time and the effects on their body can become extremely detrimental or even fatal if not kept in check.
Atrophy In outer space and under low to zero gravity, muscles and bones can become atrophied due to lack of use, since zero gravity environment are extremely easy to maneuver in, causing the muscles to become weaker. Bones under atrophy as well in their own way as they lose bone tissue from similar non-use as the muscles undergo.
Blood
The human heart pumps blood to parts of the body by way of gravity as the guide, so without gravity our blood would not make it to certain parts of our bodies, causing them to become blood deprived. When this happens, astronauts have become much thinner in the lower half of their bodies while their faces, arms and chests puff up from excess blood, causing space sickness. For many astronauts, this space sickness can wear off once the body adapts, but this is the least of their problems.
Balance
Unfortunately, the earth's horizon and vertical lines all give rise to a sense of orientation. In outer space there is no true up, down, north or south or even east or west. Left and right can just as easily be up or down to someone else since it is all relative, and without gravity what might be "up" one moment can become down as your body floats around your spaceship's cabin. Suffice it to say that an astronaut's sense of balance is completely compromised, however, to make things more difficult the inner ear is non-functional in outer space. The inner ear requires gravity to function and properly coordinate movements, so astronauts must be patient and wait for their bodies to adapt and develop new ways to coordinate their bodies. This can give rise to a psychological disorientation which exacerbates space sickness.
I've been a huge proponent of space travel and astronomy in general, although contrary to the opinions of pop-astronomers who love their publicity and to daydream of a life where humans are the gods of the universe, I've truly come to realize just how impossible it is for us to ever leave our solar system, let alone to live in space for any substantial period of time to explore our universe. I hope you take the time to read some of my other articles because they all attack various issues and problems astronomers are trying to grapple with in astronomy and their attempts to make space travel a reality. Unfortunately, none of them have solid answers, and the astronomers who do have "answers" have nothing solid to back up their claims. In the realm of science, theories are not answers but are more often just groundwork for searching out what answers "can" be found if some simple questions are just asked. This might sound a little confusing, but in astronomy, just being able to ask a legitimate question is difficult, so theories shape our thoughts and guide us to questions that might actually have answers that can be found by research. With this insight in mind, a theory is much more often "wrong" than it is right or and sometimes theories aren't even on target, since they most often serve the purpose of *creating questions* that demand answers, rather than being an answer in and of themselves.
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In the end, pop-astronomers wish only to proclaim life without God and human sovereignty, which is the ultimate falsehood. Read my articles if you want to see the other side of the coin. If God does exist, then there may be a good reason why He put us on only one earth and made only one unique planet out of the entire cosmos. Even if you're atheist, what good is having a scientific mind if you are unwilling to explore new possibilities......even ones you don't like!

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