Saturday, May 15, 2021

Space is bad for you, this says

This is a short video clip of an astronaut trying to walk after a prolonged mission in space. He clearly has a lot of difficulty in walking without any assistance.

This brings Elon Musk's Starship into a bit of question. Do you really want to put people on board this thing for months at a time, and then deposit them on the surface of a hostile environment like Mars?

Much work needs to be done in order to make space travel feasible. Artificial gravity could be a help with what this astronaut is suffering. Also, there needs to be more protection from harmful radiation.

The effects from radiation are much hyped, but it is clear that too much will definitely hurt you. Without sufficient protection, it is going to be a bad experience for folks who expose themselves to this hazard.

But space does not have to be bad per se, as this post seems to be saying. You can die on the surface of the Earth itself if you don't have protection from the elements.

If humans lived only where it is possible to go without shelter and clothing, we would be living in trees in the tropics. Is that the kind of thinking that should prevail?

Getting spaceflight costs down through reusability is an important first step. But there's a lot more to do.







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