After years of rigorous training, the world's best athletes will now compete at 2024 Paris Olympics, but do you know what it takes to stay for astronauts to be in shape in space?
On Earth, the human body has evolved to function with gravity. Astronauts, on the other hand, have discovered that the microgravity (weightless) environment of space has a different reaction on their bodies. In fact, as people stay for longer periods on the International Space Station, we are learning more about the relationship between gravity and the human body.
Why do astronauts need to be physically fit?
Strong bones and muscles and good cardiac fitness help to mitigate some of the major effects of living in microgravity. When astronauts float around weightless, they are not using the muscles they would be on Earth to walk, run or even stand, and the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood around the body. This means that muscles become weak from lack of use. As the heart is largely made up of muscle tissue, this weakness can affect heart function, too.
It also doesn’t take very long in space before bones start to lose calcium and bone density, making them weak and at risk of fractures or developing osteoporosis-like conditions. A weak and easily-winded astronaut with fragile bones wouldn’t make a very good Mars explorer!
What does an out-of-the-world-workout comprise of?
A round-trip future expedition to Mars is going to take about three years, so we must be sure that astronauts can stay healthy for an extended period in microgravity and the lower gravity of Mars.
To keep their muscles, heart, and bones healthy during spaceflight, astronauts must do about two and a half hours of weight-bearing exercises daily. However, it’s not easy to do that kind of exercise in a weightless environment, so astronauts need to strap themselves to a treadmill, an exercise bike, or a special weightlifting machine, to give themselves the workout they need to maintain physical fitness.
Space tech helping Aussie swimmers go for Gold
Did you know that Speedo had looked to space to help Aussie swimmers perform at their best?
The national Swim Team will wear new Fastskin swimsuits, which feature a coating engineered by Lamoral Space Tech to originally protect satellites in orbit.
The technology is extremely water-repellent, reducing friction, and enhancing durability. This is just another example of the many ways that technology we develop for space can be used to help us do things better on Earth.
The swimsuits are on display at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide.
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