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What can happen to the human body if it stays in space for several months?
2025-03-09 16:06:45 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
Prolonged time in space is detrimental to health, meaning returning astronauts typically have a unique set of challenges to overcome upon their return to Earth.
The topic of interstellar travel is coming to the fore again as the (hopeful) return of stranded astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams approaches.
The astronauts have now spent more than 270 days – about nine months – trapped in space.
Butch, 62, and Suni, 59, were scheduled to stay in space for only about eight days on the first manned Boeing Starliner trip on June 4, 2024.
However, things didn't go exactly according to plan and the astronauts are hoping to return from space as soon as possible.
What does being in space do to the body?
The longest time a human has ever spent in space was 437 days, with the record held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, while the American record belongs to astronaut Frank Rubio, who returned to Earth after 371 days between 2022 and 2023.
When Polyakov and Rubio managed to return to our planet, both noticed significant changes in their bodies.
Another notable case was that of American astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, who fainted during a homecoming ceremony in 2006.
So why is this happening? Well, the answer lies in the importance of gravity.
One of the biggest changes that returning astronauts will notice is the loss of muscle mass, with the BBC reporting that space missions lasting longer than six months can cause astronauts to lose up to 30% of their muscle and bone mass.
Without gravity, astronauts do not need to use their muscles for activities such as walking, standing, or lifting heavy objects, resulting in atrophy in their bodies.
NASA also added that weight-bearing bones lose an average of "1% to 1.5% of mineral density per month during spaceflight."
Which means it's no wonder a returning astronaut would feel unsteady on his feet.
The changes to the body don't end there either, with medical evaluations taken of returning astronaut Scott Kelly also showing a decline in the speed and accuracy of his cognitive performance, a change in gut bacteria, weight loss, and possible DNA damage from radiation exposure.
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