To boldly go where no one has gone before, human beings have taken several courageous steps. Humans have long been exploring the space and still, there is a huge portion that remains unknown to us and maybe that's why one shouldn't take the prospect of going to space in a lighter vein.
Recently many civilians have signed for a trip to space but NASA astronaut Anna Fisher doesn't think that it's a very good idea. Fisher has recently warned that many people, who are willing to go to space, may actually not be prepared for the rigors of spaceflight and it may take a toll on their bodies.
Dr. Fisher holds the record of becoming the first mother in space and she was unwell for the first two days of her space mission in 1984 on the Discovery spacecraft. Now, she believes that the people, who are willing to spend an astronomical amount of money to visit space, may be unable to comprehend the consequences.
Dr. Fisher told The Telegraph that traveling to space is far from shaping up as a commercial flight and many civilians cannot comprehend what might happen to their bodies when they reach microgravity. She revealed that she herself had fallen sick the first time her spacecraft had taken off to space.
As of now only the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos has been able to take tourists to space and it cost them between $20 million and $40 million. Currently, several aerospace giants, such as Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX, are preparing to launch commercial space flights within the next couple of years.
Famous people, who have already shelled out money and bought the tickets to go for a space trip, include Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Late Stephen Hawking was also among the people planning to fly off with Virgin Galactic.
The crew members of Apollo 8 were the first astronauts who reported being sick during their mission in 1968 and by the time Apollo 9 mission, the astronauts were feeling so terrible that they had to reschedule their spacewalk. Microgravity severely affects metabolism, heat regulation, heart rhythm, muscle tone, bone density, eyesight and respiratory system.
American researchers also found out in 2016 that astronauts, who went into deep space on lunar missions were five times more prone to die from cardiovascular disease than the ones that traveled into the lower orbit or, better even, never left Earth.
Even in 2017, a group of Russian scientists discovered that microgravity is capable of impacting the immune systems of the humans so seriously that the space travelers could even struggle to get rid of something as minor as a cold, if they ever get infected.
According to a flight surgeon for NASA, Smith Johnson, spaceflight is nothing short of dangerous. It actually affects all the system of one's body. Dr. Johnson also noted that humans that go to space also receives ten times more radiation, which could prove to be severe.
Even after they return from the flight, astronauts were not out of risk. They required two weeks to recover, they were not supposed to drive for 15 days and avoid flying for about one month. After returning from space, human spine slowly adjusts to Earth's gravity and during this time, space travelers are 13 times more likely to undergo a slipped disc.
