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Hibernating to Mars
neutron_p writes "Manned missions beyond the Moon are no longer wild dreams. NASA plans a manned mission to Mars before 2020. With automatic systems in control, astronauts would face the challenge of living in a confined space with not much to do for an extremely long period. 'Might as well sleep it off!' Studies initiated by ESA have gone one step further. Wouldn't it be nice if astronauts could hibernate! ESA biologists are conducting investigations into the physiological mechanisms that mammals use to hibernate."
works for most of USA
Just gather up a bunch of geeks and toss them in the capsule. Once they get away from Earth, send a message letting them know that you accidentially packed decaf. Once the panic wears off, they'll sleep the rest of the trip.
This strikes me as having two BIG problems right from the start:
This would be great, if it works, but I bet we end up doing it the hard way...
"I'm a scientist! I don't think, I observe!" - Dr. Clayton Forrester
Make them earn their passage by doing some programming along the way. Set up the food dispensers so that if you don't work, you don't eat. That will keep them occupied!
Expect NASA to announce, in the next few months, that physical requirements for astronauts have now changed. All prospective recruits must now have at least 400 lbs. of body fat.
...not to hit the snooze button when you get there.
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One of the problems in space is your body begins to weaken since there is no gravity. That, with the fact that a year of not moving even on earth would make you too weak.. One wonders.
-Eric
Ever see those clips of astronauts constantly exercising? They need to do that keep up their muscles out of atophy. If muscles will atophy for an otherwise active astronaut, don't you think they'll get even worse for a hibernating astronaut?
Slowing down the metabolism slows everything down, including the process of muscle atrophy. You're right, of course, that there's a lot we don't understand about the process -- but if hibernation were the same as bed-rest, then animals that do hibernate would be too weak to move when they woke up. (And yes, being on strict bed-rest for a given period of time produces about the same degree of muscle atrophy and bone density loss as being in microgravity for the same period of time.) Odds are that hibernating astronauts would be in a lot better shape whent they got to Mars than they would be if they were awake the whole time.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
I say you surf the net and find the biggest net geeks they can find that never log off. After a spot check at their house to see they do in fact only leave their room to shit, get pizza, soda, and beer then sign them up to be astronauts. These guys wouldn't even notice they have left earth, much less have difficulty handling the isolation. That is of course till Halflife 3 came out and wouldn't run on their computers.
Then we would have to have an emergency mission. Of course we could get ATI or NVIDIA to pay for the privlage of being "the official sponser of the graphics card upgrade rescue mission".
But it would also suck to fall asleep and wake up three years later -- and three years older, with absolutely nothing to show for it.
;)
Kind of like studying computer science...
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Induction of hibernation has a much more practical purpose here on earth -- organ transplant.
If we could force an ex-planted organ into hibernation, then we wouldn't have to rush around trying to get organs into people within 6-12 hrs (it is different for each organ type).
Hiberation may also inhibit the reperfusion injury that often complicates transplant as well.
That's just the obvious use of medical hiberation. We already know that somebody can not be declared dead until they are "cold and dead." This is because the many cases of people appearing to be brain dead --especially children-- who have a complete recovery after warming. (So if you are going to drown, please do so in a very cold lake.)
Imagine the day when people who are dying at home get placed into hiberation until they can be brought to the hospital and worked up. Instead of blindly trying treatments in the field, one could slow down the dying process until a cause of injury is found.
It has always amazed me that so many animals hiberate, but we can figure out how to translate that into humans.