Why Am I Taller? - What Happens to an Astronaut's Body in Space

Elizabeth Howell, Dr. Dave Williams

Summary

What happens in space that causes the body to change? Learn about life in space from astronauts 
		 
Is the human body built for Mars? NASA’s studies on the International Space Station show we need to fix a few things before sending people to the Red Planet. Astronauts go into space with good vision and come back needing eyeglasses. Cognition and DNA expression could be affected for years. And then there’s the discomfort of living in a tight space with crewmates, depression, and separation from the people you love.
		 
Space doctors are on the case. You’ll meet the first twin to spend a year in space, the woman who racked up three physically challenging spacewalks in between 320 days of confinement, and the cosmonaut who was temporarily stranded on space station Mir while the Soviet Union broke up underneath him. What are we learning about the human body?
		 
As astronauts target moon missions and eventual landings on Mars, one of the major questions is how the human body will behave in “partial gravity.” How does the human body change on another world, as opposed to floating freely in microgravity? What can studies on Earth and in space tell us about planetary exploration? These questions will be important to the future of space exploration and to related studies of seniors and people with reduced mobility on Earth.

Available since: 11/01/2022.

Print length: 240 pages.

1 Comments

Book of the Week 11/04/2022

There is something magical about the neverending vastness of space that has intrigued humanity since the beginning of time. Dr. Dave Williams is one of the few fortunates to have traveled to space and, being not only an astronaut but a physician-astronaut, part of his mission was to observe how the human body responds to the lack of gravity. Not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about exploring the universe but certainly of utter importance if humanity wants to inhabit other planetary bodies. Something that may well happen during this millennium, according to this book.

Dr. Williams and Howell explain the challenges for our bodies in an entertaining and highly informative way, so that you will learn all about chicken legs, moon face and height increase in space. While these symptoms are temporary, other symptoms cause astronauts to age way faster in space than on earth, which is why many of space medicine’s findings can already help improve life on earth for the elderly. A truly remarkable read!

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About the author

Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell, PhD, teaches at several institutes and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. She has written three previous books on trauma, dissociation, and...

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