Another danger for the Mars trip

Another danger for the Mars trip

Retired NASA astronaut David Wolfe

Space travel includes known hazards: freezing point, vacuum, radiation, and insulation. However, few people remember the risk of visual impairment. This was recently recalled by retired NASA astronaut David Wolfe.

He knows what he is talking about, since he recorded 168 days in the space of four separate space missions of the shuttle, and also included 128 days aboard the Russian space station Mir. He also led a team of astronauts who built the ISS.

Dr. Wolfe shared his experience, pointing out exactly how space flight affects the structure of the eye. Many astronauts experience visual impairment after missions. Some people show symptoms several years after returning to Earth. The main theory is that microgravity leads to a moderate but constant increase in pressure in the head. This stimulates a change in the eye shape, which impairs vision. Researchers use visualization techniques (adopted in ophthalmology) to find a solution for this problem. We have an important question before us, because the US is preparing for long flights to Mars, the Moon and the asteroid belt.

Dr. Wolfe worked as a senior flight surgeon for the US Air Force from 1983-2004. He is also an electrical engineer and inventor who received 17 patents in the United States. He received the title “Inventor of the Year” in 1992. In 2011, he was honored to be in the Space Glory Hall of Fame for his work on the creation of a bioreactor - allows you to grow tissues, cancers and viral cultures in space or on Earth outside the body.

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