The University of Suwon International College · Transcript · · Updated
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Video by The University of Suwon International College · Watch the original on YouTube
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- Space conditions are very hostile for humans because of extreme temperatures, a lack of atmosphere, and zero gravity.
- Astronauts experience a 90-minute day that throws off natural body rhythms and causes extreme jet lag.
- Space station environments can easily spread viruses and expose astronauts to ten times more radiation than Earth.
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Page 126, exercise B, and page 127, exercises C and D. A class presentation about space travel.
Good morning, Mr. Campbell and fellow classmates. My presentation today is on health challenges that people face living and working in space, such as the astronauts on the International Space Station.
The most important thing to know is that conditions in space are very hostile for humans. The environment is so unfriendly that it's difficult for us to live there. First, the temperatures are extreme. When the Earth blocks the sun, temperatures can drop hundreds of degrees below freezing. However, when the sun hits the spaceship, the temperatures can swing 500° in the other
direction. Second, there's no atmosphere, so there's no air to breathe. Here on Earth, the atmosphere pushes down on us all the time. That air pressure is very important to us. With no air and no air pressure, a person can't live for even 10 minutes.
Fortunately, astronauts have spacuits. Spaceuits protect the body and they also provide air and air pressure. In this slide, you can see an astronaut outside the space station. That's called a spacew walk. And astronauts can do spacew walks thanks to their spacuits.
Another unique condition astronauts face in space is zero gravity. In this slide, the astronauts almost appear to be flying inside the space station. That's because the station is moving very fast.
So really, the astronauts are always falling. It's kind of fun to float in zero gravity, but it leads to muscle loss because their bodies don't need to work very hard. Astronauts can become thin and weak. So they need to exercise for at least 90 minutes every day to stay strong and healthy. Now let's look
at circadian rhythms. Our natural daily rhythm is about 24 hours long. And our bodies are synchronized with a 24-hour day, but on a spaceship, astronauts experience a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes, making for a 90minute day. This throws off the natural rhythms of the body, including periods of wakefulness and sleep.
Astronauts go through something like extreme jet lag all the time. Covering windows and using special lighting can help. Another issue is that the space station or a spaceship is a closed habitat. This means that viruses or sicknesses have no place to go. So they keep moving around inside the closed space. They easily move from one person to another.
Plus, because astronauts are in a stressful situation and their bodies change to adapt to space, they may be more likely to get sick. The final health issue is radiation.
Radiation from the sun can cause cancer. The Earth's atmosphere protects us from some radiation. Astronauts on the space station are exposed to 10 times more radiation than we are here on Earth.
Space radiation can also cause radiation sickness, which makes you feel sick and tired all the time. It may be hard to keep food and medication safe from radiation. As you can see, no matter where we go in space, we will experience changes that could affect our health.
The more scientists know about the potential dangers, the better they can prepare astronauts to explore safely and successfully. Okay, now let's see what questions you