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Vision Problems For Some Returning Astronauts

Posted by Soulskill on from the blame-the-ether dept.

astroengine writes "A newly discovered affliction has some doctors wondering if astronauts traveling to Mars could have problems with their eyesight by the time they got there. About one-third of U.S. crew members aboard the ISS return with impaired vision, one case of which was permanent. The reason for the late discovery of this mysterious affliction is the reluctance of astronauts on active service to come forward — the risk of being grounded after complaining of blurry vision is considered too great."

6 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Re:One of many? by Shadowmist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... which would be unprofessional and probably reckless behaviour on behalf of the astronauts. One can understand the emotional reasons, but the huge efforts made for their safety would be in vain if they are not honest about their capabilities.

    That's all nice and logical from the armchair, but take it from their point of view. They're Air Force pilots, who've spent years, maybe decades to get tht shot. Knowing that Deke Slayton was grounded for the better part of a decade for a minor heart flutter, you're simply not going to take the chance if you think it's not stopping you from doing your job. That's part of "Right Stuff" mentality. The very kind of personality you recruit for the job tends to foster that kind of disposition. It would be very interesting to get the Russian data on this... they're the endurance bears when it comes to long stays in space.

  2. The best solution is.... by WindBourne · · Score: 3, Interesting

    to send the astronauts on a one-way mission to mars. The idea of bringing them back is irresponsible. The reason is that we can send a mission to mars in less then 6 months. HOWEVER, returning them is a whole different matter. It will be at least a year. As such the better solution is to send the crew to Mars for at least 10 years, or possibly life.

    There are other good reasons to make at least the first couple of trips be one-way. It allows the sending group to focus on keeping a crew alive. That is actually cheaper than coming up with a return vehicle and the fuel for it. By sending one-way, it gives them time to build a base out while doing research on the planet.

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    1. Re:The best solution is.... by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Interesting

      We can have the astronauts in a 1G field for most of the trip, extend a boom with counterbalance and spin the ship with large radius. We can send fuel for return trip by automated ship very quickly, at much less cost than sending humans. The astronauts can spend some dual-pod centrifuge time in pairs on mars doing exercises, so they can have strength to be back in earth's 1G field. Such a centrifuge could be made to fold very compactly, using mostly two astronauts weight to counterbalance each other, and a sliding part to equalize any difference in their weights.

    2. Re:The best solution is.... by Jeng · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That is actually cheaper than coming up with a return vehicle and the fuel for it. By sending one-way, it gives them time to build a base out while doing research on the planet.

      For efficiencies sake it would be best to have it built before humans land. The base will not be just for shelter, it will be for oxygen, electricity, and food production also.

      Besides that the astronauts would require shelter while building their shelter the amount of food and supplies necessary to keep the astronauts alive while they built their habitat would exceed the cost of building a base with robots before they got there.

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  3. Re:Weightlessness is a Bitch by nomel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Who said a torus? Just use a tether attached to some weight (maybe a few old satellites that need decommissioning). This way, you could have "gravity rooms" of any size, including the whole ISS. I suppose you might want to put the communication satellite at the center of gravity.

    Maybe the possibility of a severed tethers sending the craft into the atmosphere is why they don't do this approach.

  4. There is no reason to rush humans... by couchslug · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...into space. We have a thousand years, two thousand, ten if we like.

    Send few humans and many probes. Our supporting, non-space-exploration tech will progress too.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."