The influence of space on human life on earth. How space affects the human body The influence of space on people's lives message

Currently, the problem of studying the influence of space, as a living mind, on humans has become an integral part of philosophy, both science and people's lives.

The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that at the beginning of the 21st century the problem of man and space, and connections with it, does not cease to be the central problem of philosophy. Experiencing a crisis, space flights, exploration of other planets and stars, humanity is reconsidering the usual guidelines for its existence.

If earlier, humanity believed that the sun, stars, and moon were incomprehensible to humans, that we would never see them up close, but today we are already trying to find out whether the cosmos behaves like a living mind in relation to us. Therefore, the problem of space exploration comes to the fore; the problem of the relationship between everything that exists and the cosmos.

People noticed the influence of space on processes occurring on earth back in ancient times. This is how the ancient Egyptians used the moon to determine when the Nile tide was high and low. However, the connection between space and man was interpreted rather as scientific hypotheses, or completely went beyond the scope of science. In the 20th century, knowledge about the influence of space on Earth has expanded significantly. This is the merit of Russian scientists, first of all, representatives of Russian cosmism - A. L. Chizhevsky, K. E. Tsiolkovsky and others.

The first who managed to understand and comprehend the scale of the influence of space on people’s lives was A.L. Chizhevsky.

The meaning of Chizhevsky’s research, based on rich factual material, was to prove the existence of cosmic rhythms and the dependence of biological and social life on Earth on the pulse of the cosmos. Chizhevsky argued that space affects not only biological, but also social conflicts. All this is determined by the behavior and activity of our sun. According to his calculations, during minimal solar activity, a minimum of social and biological manifestations occur. During the peak of activity, their number reaches more than half.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky spoke about Chizhevsky’s work: “The young scientist is trying to discover the functional relationship between the behavior of humanity and fluctuations in the activity of the Sun and, through calculations, determine the rhythm, cycles and periods of these changes and fluctuations, thus creating a new sphere of human knowledge.” This work is an example of the fusion of various sciences together on the monistic basis of physical and mathematical analysis.

Also quite interesting were the cosmic ideas of the first Russian cosmist N.F. Fedorov. For example, he said that the settlement of people on other planets, due to large clusters, will become a necessary reality. space Chizhevsky life earth

N. F. Fedorov’s ideas about the settlement of people throughout space were supported by K. E. Tsiolkovsky. He also owns a number of original philosophical ideas. Life, according to Tsiolkovsky, is eternal: “After each death, the same thing happens - dispersion. We have always lived and will always live, but each time in a new form and, of course, without memory of the past<…>A piece of matter is subject to an innumerable series of lives, although separated by enormous periods of time...”

Tsiolkovsky believed that life and intelligence on earth are not the only ones in the universe. In his philosophical ethics, he was rationalistic and consistent, raising the idea of ​​constant improvement of matter to an absolute. Based on the comparative youth of the earth, he said that on other, older planets life is much more perfect and influences other lives, including earthly life. A similar theory was expressed by V.I. Vernadsky, studying the processes of development of the biosphere, speaking out about the influence of space.

Following the teachings of Chizhevsky about the influence of the sun on biological and social conflicts, one can argue about the significant influence of space, the sun, and the moon on the existence of mankind. People increasingly believe that space directly affects us and our lives. Recently, in Khakassia, many fields simultaneously caught fire at different points. The fire claimed the lives of many people, not to mention their homes and crops. According to TESIS, on April 13, 2015, class M flares (Medium flares) were recorded on the sun, and on the same day large fires broke out in Khakassia. Taking into account Chizhevsky’s research, we can say that fields in Khakassia caught fire due to solar flares. That is, his research is reliable, because this is not the only fact that cataclysms occur when flares occur on the sun.

Taking into account all of the above, I would like to note that people have yet to learn all the secrets of space, its influence on human existence with the help of the sun, solar flares, the moon, solar eclipse, stars, effects on the mental and psychological level. People should reconsider their views in relation to space, treating it not as an object, but as a living organism that has a special influence on us. To do this, it is worth changing the approach to research and its study, not as a silent vacuum, but to look at it as an object that has its own will, spirit, mind and mind.

1. Lytkin V.V. Natural scientific foundations for the formation of “cosmic philosophy” by K.E. Tsiolkovsky / V.V. Lytkin // World of science, culture, education. 2012. No. 2.

2. Chizhevsky A.L. Cosmic pulse of life. - M.: Mysl, 1995

3. Concepts of modern natural science / Ed. V.N. Lavrinenko. M.: "Culture and Sport", 1997. p.193

4. Concepts of modern natural science / Ed. V.N. Lavrinenko M.: "Culture and Sports", 1997. p.192

©Krylyvets K.A., 2015

People dreaming of space should think about more pressing problems than asking questions about the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and their lack of desire to visit us or at least hear from us. After all, we've not only been sending people into orbit for quite some time now, we've also been talking about space tourism almost on the horizon, gleefully surprised by the world's space agencies' plans to settle on Mars, and news of private companies investing hundreds of millions of dollars in studying questions related to survival on other planets.

“Space is a harsh environment that is very rarely forgiving of human error and technical failure,” the researchers write in the book Biology in Space and Life on Earth: The Effects of Spaceflight on Biological Systems).

But, unfortunately, human error and technical failures are not the only problems that we all need to think about before embarking on the era of space colonization.

“The most important problem in such missions is biomedical. And it lies in how to maintain human health during a long stay in such harsh conditions,” comments retired astronaut Leroy Chiao.

Below we will look at examples of the consequences that people flying into space have to face, both within the flights themselves and after they return home.

Microgravity is a silent killer

At first glance, it may seem that weightlessness is one of the most pleasant things associated with space travel, but do not underestimate microgravity and its impact on human biological systems.

The lack of gravity in space weakens and makes our cardiovascular system less efficient. Instead of distributing blood normally and effortlessly throughout our body, its ineffective functioning allows blood to concentrate in the head and chest, which significantly increases the risk of developing hypertension (consistently high blood pressure). In more serious cases, when weightlessness reduces the efficiency of oxygen supply and distribution in the body, the risk of developing cardiac arrhythmia increases.

Since muscle activity in microgravity conditions is significantly reduced (muscles do not need to fight Earth’s gravity), some of the main muscles of the body begin to atrophy when a person spends a long time in space. Loss of muscle mass and strength is an inevitable bonus of every long-term space mission. That is why crew members of the International Space Station are required to perform physical exercises every day for a couple of hours aimed at strengthening the calf muscles, quadriceps, as well as the muscles of the neck and back.

Partial blindness

It is not only the human muscular system that is at risk of consequences from a long stay in space. There have been cases when, after a prolonged stay in space, alarming signs of visual impairment were noted. And these cases, it must be admitted, turned out to be, unfortunately, not isolated.

Two-thirds of astronauts on the International Space Station have reported vision problems. The main suspicion, according to experts from the NASA aerospace agency, falls on changes in the distribution of fluid in the cranial cavity, in the eyes and spinal cord in response to the conditions created by microgravity. The result of this is the appearance of visual impairment syndrome due to increased intracranial pressure. In our country, this syndrome is most often called intracranial hypertension (ICH). Fortunately, technology does not stand still, and one day we will have the tools to not only understand, but also effectively prevent the consequences of the connection between intracranial pressure and microgravity.

The inevitability of exposure

Some people on Earth are concerned about radiation from electrical devices like smartphones. I wonder what they would say if they knew what level of radiation a person has to face in space?

“In space, the radiation dose rate can be 100-1000 times higher than on Earth,” comments Keri Zeitlin from the US Southwest Research Institute.

“The radiation itself is present in the form of cosmic rays - highly charged particles, from which we on Earth are shielded by the magnetic field of our planet and its atmosphere.”

The impact of this exposure on the human body may extend far beyond our understanding of a healthy environment. The average radiation dose to which a person on Earth is exposed during the year from natural sources is 2.4 mSv (millisieverts) with a range from 1 to 10 mSv. Anything above 100 mSv can sooner or later lead to cancer. Meanwhile, astronauts aboard the International Space Station could be exposed to up to 200 mSv of radiation. If we talk about interplanetary flights, then this level will generally be about 600 mSv. Even a flight to the closest neighboring planet, Mars, can lead to genetic mutations, destruction of DNA chains, as well as a 30 percent increase in the risk of developing cancer.

Fortunately, the ISS crew is protected from most radiation by the same magnetic field that protects us on the planet's surface. But if we are talking about a real flight to Mars, then we do not yet have any suitable protection for this. NASA is trying to solve this issue, which is developing methods for optimizing shielding means, as well as methods of biological countermeasures regarding radioactive exposure.

Fungal infection

Despite all our efforts to ensure safety and cleanliness inside spacecraft, the problem of the appearance and impact of pathogenic organisms on the human body in space still remains unresolved. According to a study published by the American Society of Microbiology, the growth rate of Aspergillus fumigatus, the most common cause of fungal infection in humans, is completely unaffected by the harsh conditions of space.

If such a banal and common thing as fumigatus can enter and exist on the ISS, then, most likely, there may be other and more lethal pathogenic microorganisms on the station. Given the far from easy accessibility of the nearest hospital, any infection on board a spacecraft could have very serious consequences. Therefore, only further improvement of living conditions and the level of hygiene, as well as the development of technologies capable of providing medical diagnostics and assistance in space, will be able to protect astronauts from big problems that once began, it would seem, from the smallest and most insignificant.

Mental disorders

It's not just the physical health of astronauts who spend long periods in space that is at risk. Being in a small, hermetically sealed space tin can for long months, during which you have to communicate with the same people every day, realize that you cannot even just lie comfortably on a bed or get up and walk freely - all this , as well as many other things, can strain your mental state to the limit and ultimately cause serious psychological trauma.

The results of a NASA-funded study into the challenges of long periods in space show that a major concern for American astronauts during their missions aboard the International Space Station is how to behave around crew members. In his personal journal, one astronaut wrote about the stress he experienced in these interpersonal relationships:

“I really want to get out of here. From these cramped closets in which you have to spend a long time with the same people. Even those things that you would most likely not pay attention to in everyday life, after a certain time begin to bother you so much that they can drive anyone crazy.”

There has already been a lot of research on the safety and protection of the psychological health of astronauts during their stay in space and will be carried out even more taking into account the increase in the duration of space flights.

Maximum support for human health during long space flights is a very serious problem and a very time-consuming task to solve, but even this does not stop people who want to become space pioneers. There really are people in the world who are ready for literally anything. Despite all the risks described in the results of numerous studies, despite all the potential dangers that await humans in space, despite all the risks to the health of our biological systems and psyche, the NASA aerospace agency received more than 18,000 applications for the right to become astronauts. Record number! We can only hope that the research being carried out today in the near future will really allow us to carry out safe space travel, the level of threats not surpassing ordinary terrestrial ones.

Technological progress brings with it many dangers to the life of modern man. One of the most serious is the danger of exposure to radioactive substances and radiation. Testing of nuclear weapons, construction of nuclear nuclear power plants, and the use of nuclear reactors in various fields of activity significantly increase the risk of receiving additional (and sometimes, unfortunately, fatal) doses of radiation by people who are in direct or indirect contact with radionuclides. Such concepts as radioactive fallout and radioactive waste have entered our lives. Radioactive fallout is radioactive aerosols deposited from the atmosphere onto the earth's surface. The bulk of them are radionuclides formed as a result of nuclear explosions and emissions from nuclear industry enterprises, thermal power plants and due to the decay products of natural radionuclides. Radioactive waste - solutions, products, materials, substances and biological objects contaminated with radionuclides in quantities exceeding established sanitary standards and not subject to further use. Such waste is generated during the operation and especially repair of nuclear power reactors at nuclear power plants, ships and ships, research reactors, when using radioisotope sources and preparations in technology, science and medicine.

A person is a complex integral system, which in turn is a component of more complex systems - biological and social. The patterns of physiological processes directly affect social life and vice versa.

In our age of stressful overloads and serious environmental disturbances, health acts as a leading factor that determines not only the harmonious development of a person, but also the success of his mastery of a profession, the effectiveness of professional activities.

There are a large number of factors that reduce the level of human health: past illnesses, addiction to alcohol and smoking, chronic influence of unfavorable living and working conditions, poor nutrition (both its insufficiency and abundance and high calorie content), disordered work and rest, sleep, frequent emotional stress, air, water and food pollution, abuse of medications and household chemicals.

But not only the social environment influences the human body and the person as a whole. The influence of the environment on the body is usually assessed through individual environmental factors.

Most often, factors are divided into three groups.

1. Factors of inanimate nature (abiological, or physicochemical). These include climatic, atmospheric, soil (edaphic), geomorphological (orographic), hydrological and others.

2. Factors of living nature (biological) - the influence of some organisms or their communities on others. These influences can be from plants (phytogenic), animals (zoogenic), microorganisms, fungi, etc.

3. Factors of human activity (anthropogenic). Among them, a distinction is made between direct impact on the habitat (for example, fishing) and indirect impact on the habitat (for example, environmental pollution, destruction of feeding grounds, construction of dams on rivers, etc.).

It is interesting to classify factors according to the frequency and direction of action, and the degree of adaptation of organisms to them. In this regard, factors are distinguished that act strictly periodically (changes in the time of day, seasons of the year, tidal phenomena, etc.), those that act without strict periodicity, but are repeated from time to time. This includes weather events, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.

Here the question of bioethics immediately arises.

Bioethics is understood as the application of concepts and norms of universal morality, in which the problems of good and evil, conscience, duty, honor, etc. are understood, to the field of experimental and theoretical activity in biology, as well as in the practical application of its results.

Basic principles of biological ethics:

The principle of unity and ethics, their deep correspondence and interdependence. If life is the highest manifestation of orderliness and organization in the natural world, then ethics is the highest expression of the forces opposing chaos in society. Given this deep relationship between the phenomenon of life and ethics, ethical standards should be constantly taken into account both in science and in practice.

Recognition of life as the highest category among all ethical values, the principle of “benevolence before life.”

The principle of harmonization of the “man - biosphere” system, which puts forward as the most pressing task of our time the establishment of optimal relationships between man and nature, requiring scientists and practitioners to increasingly take into account the biological foundations of social existence, persistently search for ways to transform the biosphere into the noosphere and prevent the possibility of its destruction .

Man, the human mind and society are the pinnacle of the natural development of the earth and its biosphere. If we take the development of the biosphere, then in this case the history of mankind will take only a very short period of time. The biosphere represents an alternation of a number of stages of evolution, each of which revealed increasingly complex forms of development. There were different periods in the history of the earth:

1) a period of purely geological evolution, when there was no life on Earth;

2) the period of geological and biological evolution, at the last stage of which the formation of anthroposociogenesis occurs;

3) period of spiritual evolution, sphere of reason. This is a qualitatively new era in the evolution of the Earth. It is characterized by a transition from the biosphere to the noosphere - the sphere of interaction between nature and society, within which intelligent human activity becomes the determining factor in evolution.

One of the fundamental properties of living nature is the cyclical nature of most processes occurring in it. There is a connection between the movement of celestial bodies and living organisms on Earth.

Living organisms not only capture the light and heat of the sun and moon, but also have various mechanisms that accurately determine the position of the Sun, respond to the rhythm of the tides, the phases of the moon and the movement of our planet. They grow and reproduce in a rhythm that is timed to the length of the day, the change of season, the length of the lunar month, the solar day, etc. Which in turn are caused by the rotation of the Earth around its axis, the rotation of the sun around itself, the movement of the Earth around the sun, the revolution of the moon, the rotation of the Earth-moon system around the sun, the cyclical activity of the sun, the revolution of the solar system in the galaxy, etc. The coincidence of the phases of the life cycle of organisms with periodic phenomena in nature, to the conditions of which they are adapted, is crucial for the existence of an individual organism, species and the biosphere as a whole. In the process of historical development, cyclical phenomena occurring in nature were perceived and assimilated by living matter, and organisms developed the ability to periodically change their physiological state. We can say that every level of organization of living matter lives with its own rhythms, of different periods, of different durations, but always cyclically.

A uniform alternation in time of any state of the body is called a biological rhythm. There are external (exogenous), which have a geographic nature and follow cyclical changes in the external environment, and internal (endogenous), or physiological, rhythms of the body.

There are a number of biosphere rhythms from several months, caused by seasonal changes in illumination, to tens of millions of years, associated with the reaction of the biosphere to cyclic tectonic influences with a period of about 180 million years. It can be argued that these rhythms are the fluctuations through which order is achieved - homeostasis of the biosphere. This is her way of self-regulation. Their mechanism is provided by solar energy and the circulation of matter between the subsystems of the biosphere, the lithosphere and their elements. Hence the many problems associated with the study of biosphere rhythms of various orders and the mechanisms that support them: energy and matter cycles. First of all, these are questions about the balance of matter participating in the cycles and at the input and output of the system, about the leading circulations of matter for biosphere rhythms of different durations and their spatial manifestation. Their solution will make it possible to determine in which phase of biosphere rhythms of different orders from tens and thousands of years (1850 years) to several million years the modern biosphere is located, i.e. answer the question in which direction the natural process is going that determines the homeostasis of the biosphere.

Our Earth has been suitable for life for about 4 billion years, which indicates, first of all, small changes in the temperature of its surface. During this long period of time, there was no significant overheating or hypothermia of the planet, therefore, the arrival of cosmic energy was equal to its consumption. But this is the overall balance over 4 billion years. In certain periods, it was unlikely to be observed, since, undoubtedly, in eras of intense development of magmatism and mountain building, heat loss into space is higher than in relatively calm ones. As is known, mountain building processes, acting constantly, periodically intensify and weaken. Against the background of the gigantic rhythm of the megabiosphere with periods of about 900 and 450 million years, there are a large number of smaller periods of intensification and weakening of tectonic movements. Up to several years established for earthquakes and volcanism. Part of the cosmic (solar) energy is accumulated by the biosphere and, with the products of its activity - sedimentary deposits - enters the lithosphere, where it is converted into heat and returns to the biosphere and outer space with the heat flow from the depths. However, a certain amount of energy accumulates in the lithosphere and is then realized through tectonic movements - mountain building, magmatism and volcanism.

The biosphere and tectonosphere serve as elements of the Earth system, and it, in turn, of the Solar system, which is part of an even larger system - the Galaxy. Therefore, there is no doubt that the Solar system, together with the Earth, obeys galactic laws - the laws of the higher order system that includes them. The whole question is that we still know little about the behavior of the Solar system and our planet on their way around the central masses of the Galaxy, as a result of which we can only assume that the main mechanism for transmitting the galactic rhythm (176, 88 and 22 million years) to the Earth are disturbances movements of the Solar system (acceleration and deceleration of orbital movement, deviations from the Galactic plane, etc.), leading to periodic changes in the angular velocity of rotation of the planets.

Sharp displacements of the Earth's body relative to the axis of rotation during the transition of the poles from one wandering region to another occur near perigalacties and are accompanied by intensification of tectonic processes with corresponding decreases in the level of the World Ocean. Due to the fact that they have a reciprocating nature, the poles describe peculiar loops, but with huge galactic periods. Loop-shaped geoid displacements in wandering areas with a period close to the duration of the galactic year (176 million years) create waves of tectonic movements sliding from west to east in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, which are in antiphases (displaced by 180°). Passing through different combinations of continental and oceanic crust, they cause fluctuations in the level of the World Ocean. These fluctuations are a powerful climate-forming factor.

Therefore, large fluctuations in the planet’s climate have the same galactic periodicity as tectonic movements and transgressions, but they are superimposed by changes associated with the response of the biosphere to external influences.

The biosphere, disrupting their cyclic (galactic) pattern, responds to cyclical fluctuations in climate, the supply of nutrients, and the size of water areas caused by tectonic movements as a self-organizing system with naturally repeating fluctuations in its properties - biosphere rhythms. The latter differ significantly from each other. Therefore, despite the fact that biosphere rhythms have shorter periods than the tectonic processes that excite them, their behavior reveals a periodicity close to the galactic one.

Video: Medics are preparing for a human flight to Mars.

It is not only the human muscular system that is at risk of consequences from a long stay in space. There have been cases when, after a prolonged stay in space, alarming signs of visual impairment were noted. And these cases, it must be admitted, turned out to be, unfortunately, not isolated.

Two-thirds of astronauts on the International Space Station have reported vision problems. The main suspicion, according to experts from the NASA aerospace agency, falls on changes in the distribution of fluid in the cranial cavity, in the eyes and spinal cord in response to the conditions created by microgravity. The result of this is the appearance of visual impairment syndrome due to increased intracranial pressure. In our country, this syndrome is most often called intracranial hypertension (ICH). Fortunately, technology does not stand still, and one day we will have the tools to not only understand, but also effectively prevent the consequences of the connection between intracranial pressure and microgravity.

The inevitability of exposure

Some people on Earth are concerned about radiation from electrical devices like smartphones. I wonder what they would say if they knew what level of radiation a person has to face in space?

“In space, the radiation dose rate can be 100-1000 times higher than on Earth,” comments Keri Zeitlin from the US Southwest Research Institute.

“The radiation itself is present in the form of cosmic rays - highly charged particles, from which we on Earth are shielded by the magnetic field of our planet and its atmosphere.”

The impact of this exposure on the human body may extend far beyond our understanding of a healthy environment. The average radiation dose to which a person on Earth is exposed during the year from natural sources is 2.4 mSv (millisieverts) with a range from 1 to 10 mSv. Anything above 100 mSv can sooner or later lead to cancer. Meanwhile, astronauts aboard the International Space Station could be exposed to up to 200 mSv of radiation. If we talk about interplanetary flights, then this level will generally be about 600 mSv. Even a flight to the closest neighboring planet, Mars, can lead to genetic mutations, destruction of DNA chains, as well as a 30 percent increase in the risk of developing cancer.

Fortunately, the ISS crew is protected from most radiation by the same magnetic field that protects us on the planet's surface. But if we are talking about a real flight to Mars, then we do not yet have any suitable protection for this. NASA is trying to solve this issue, which is developing methods for optimizing shielding means, as well as methods of biological countermeasures regarding radioactive exposure.

Fungal infection

Despite all our efforts to ensure safety and cleanliness inside spacecraft, the problem of the appearance and impact of pathogenic organisms on the human body in space still remains unresolved. According to a study published by the American Society of Microbiology, the growth rate of Aspergillus fumigatus, the most common cause of fungal infection in humans, is completely unaffected by the harsh conditions of space.

If such a banal and common thing as fumigatus can enter and exist on the ISS, then, most likely, there may be other and more lethal pathogenic microorganisms on the station. Given the far from easy accessibility of the nearest hospital, any infection on board a spacecraft could have very serious consequences. Therefore, only further improvement of living conditions and the level of hygiene, as well as the development of technologies capable of providing medical diagnostics and assistance in space, will be able to protect astronauts from big problems that once began, it would seem, from the smallest and most insignificant.

Mental disorders

It's not just the physical health of astronauts who spend long periods in space that is at risk. Being in a small, hermetically sealed space tin can for long months, during which you have to communicate with the same people every day, realize that you cannot even just lie comfortably on a bed or get up and walk freely - all this , as well as many other things, can strain your mental state to the limit and ultimately cause serious psychological trauma.

The results of a NASA-funded study into the challenges of long periods in space show that a major concern for American astronauts during their missions aboard the International Space Station is how to behave around crew members. In his personal journal, one astronaut wrote about the stress he experienced in these interpersonal relationships:

“I really want to get out of here. From these cramped closets in which you have to spend a long time with the same people. Even those things that you would most likely not pay attention to in everyday life, after a certain time begin to bother you so much that they can drive anyone crazy.”

There has already been a lot of research on the safety and protection of the psychological health of astronauts during their stay in space and will be carried out even more taking into account the increase in the duration of space flights.

Maximum support for human health during long space flights is a very serious problem and a very time-consuming task to solve, but even this does not stop people who want to become space pioneers. There really are people in the world who are ready for literally anything. Despite all the risks described in the results of numerous studies, despite all the potential dangers that await humans in space, despite all the risks to the health of our biological systems and psyche, the NASA aerospace agency received more than 18,000 applications for the right to become astronauts. Record number! We can only hope that the research being carried out today in the near future will really allow us to carry out safe space travel, the level of threats not surpassing ordinary terrestrial ones.

The science

Experiments to simulate a flight to Mars have shown that long-duration flights can have unexpected consequences on a person's sleep and physical fitness.

But these are just some of the challenges and changes faced by people leaving Earth.

Company Mars One plans to send astronauts to Mars in 2023, and such a flight will be a serious test for the human body.

Here are 10 changes people will have to deal with in space.

The influence of space on humans

1. We are getting taller

Long journeys into space lead to the fact that a person becomes 3 percent higher. So if on Earth your height was 180 cm, then in space it will increase to 185 cm. Scientists believe that due to the weakening of gravity, the astronaut’s spine relaxes and expands.

However, changes in human height are temporary, and within a few months of returning to Earth, we return to our original height.

2. Bone loss

Every few months spent in space, astronauts lose 1-2 percent of their bone mass. They most often lose bone mass in the lower part of the body, especially in the lumbar vertebrae and legs. This process is known as cosmic osteopenia.

3. No burping

Since there is no lift in a state of weightlessness, there is nothing to push the gas bubbles upward in carbonated drinks. Astronauts can't burp gas, and therefore carbonated drinks cause them considerable discomfort. Fortunately, scientists have already developed space beer, with a rich taste, but without gases.

4. Constant sweating

Weightlessness leads to the absence of natural heat transfer. In this case, body heat does not rise from the skin, and the body constantly heats up in an attempt to cool itself. Moreover, since a constant stream of sweat does not drip or evaporate, it simply accumulates.

5. Nausea

About half of all astronauts experience the so-called space adaptation syndrome or space sickness. The main symptoms of this condition are nausea, dizziness, as well as visual illusions and disorientation.

Astronauts in zero gravity

6. Headache

Headache in space was previously considered one of the symptoms of space sickness. However, researchers have concluded that it is a distinct condition that can occur in perfectly healthy people who do not typically suffer from headaches on Earth. One explanation is the effects of microgravity.

7. Body fluids are distributed differently

Our body is 60 percent water. In conditions of weightlessness, our body fluids begin to shift to the upper part of the body. As a result, the veins in the neck swell, the face becomes swollen, and nasal congestion appears, which can remain throughout the flight.

8. The heart can atrophy

This is another condition related to the distribution of fluid in the body. Astronauts lose about 22 percent of their blood volume in space. Since less blood is pumped, the heart can atrophy. A weakened heart can lead to low blood pressure and problems with orthostatic tolerance, or the body's ability to deliver enough oxygen to the brain without causing fainting or dizziness.

9. Deterioration of vision

Another serious problem associated with weightlessness is deterioration of vision. Thus, half of the astronauts who have been on orbital missions since 1989 reported changes associated with myopia or farsightedness. Studies also revealed increased intracranial pressure in astronauts, which influenced changes in the optic nerve.

10. Change in taste

One of the effects of weightlessness is also changes in the sense of taste in space. For some astronauts, the food becomes bland, others find that their favorite foods no longer taste as good, and still others begin to prefer foods they wouldn't normally eat. The reason for this is not yet known, but it may be due to hyperemia, deterioration in food quality, and also boredom.

Learn more about how astronauts sleep, brush their teeth and even cry can be found in the article.