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NASA Eyes Crew Deep Sleep Option For Mars Mission
astroengine writes: A NASA-backed study explores an innovative way to dramatically cut the cost of a human expedition to Mars — put the crew in stasis. The deep sleep, called torpor, would reduce astronauts' metabolic functions with existing medical procedures. Torpor also can occur naturally in cases of hypothermia. "Therapeutic torpor has been around in theory since the 1980s and really since 2003 has been a staple for critical care trauma patients in hospitals," aerospace engineer Mark Schaffer, with SpaceWorks Enterprises in Atlanta, said at the International Astronomical Congress in Toronto this week. "Protocols exist in most major medical centers for inducing therapeutic hypothermia on patients to essentially keep them alive until they can get the kind of treatment that they need." Coupled with intravenous feeding, a crew could be put in hibernation for the transit time to Mars, which under the best-case scenario would take 180 days one-way.
Well, the article has the following text pretty much at the top:
"During interplanetary transit, the crew would receive low-level electrical impulses to key muscle groups to prevent muscular atrophy."
More or less risky than putting a team of men and/or women in a tin can and blasting them toward Mars?
No matter what, they're going to end up at least 6,778km from the nearest hospital. :)
My teenager sleeps all day but still can walk and talk when she gets up.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
going to watch the kettle? so to speak.
I imagine they would have to have one hell of an upgrade in remote control or assisted
intelligence to handle any emergencies.
~G
One just has to be careful of the acronym used for the computers name, and assiduously avoid omnipresent red-glowing video eyes. Then you'll be fine.
IV feeding doesn't mean that your muscles are actually going to be being built. Unless you're using them, your body doesn't try to repair and build them up.
When your body temperature is lowered, and your metabolism is reduced, you also reduce the physiological processes that cause muscle deterioration. Also you can "exercise" in your sleep by using mild electric pulses to contract your muscles.
Captain: "Please re-animate the mars crew!"
HAL 9000: "Windows 420 refuses to boot in secure mode.",
"Would you like to play a game of solitaire on Windows XP instead?"
At the risk of proposing simplistic answers to these technical questions (as per /. standard), I don't know why NASA isn't considering nuclear propulsion as their first choice for crewed missions to Mars. The nuclear thermal engines were investigated intensively and test articles tested and built in the 60's and were ostensibly cancelled only because there was no mission for them, not due to technical show-stoppers. Once you have a nuclear capability, trips around the Solar System become nearly routine. NASA should let Musk work on chemical rockets for his Mars trips and spend tax money on nuclear which the private guys can't do.
Plus by the time the ship arrives at its destination, the good astronauts will be separated from the bad ones.