Scientists Develop Model to Predict Methods for Safe Landing on Mars

Space Medicine Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a mathematical model to predict if an astronaut can land safely on Mars and carry out missions.

The ANU team modeled the effects of extended exposure to zero gravity on the cardiovascular system to determine if the human body can withstand Mars’ weaker gravitational forces without fainting or experiencing a medical emergency after exiting the spacecraft on the planet.

The model may also be used to evaluate how short and long space journeys affect the body, and can potentially be a crucial step in helping humans land on Mars.

The journey to Mars entails various risks, according to Dr. Lex van Loon, a Research Fellow at the ANU Medical School. However, the main issue is prolonged exposure to microgravity (near zero gravity) which could alter the human body when combined with exposure to the sun’s detrimental radiations.

Dr. van Loon, who was also the lead author of the paper, remarked, “We know it takes about six to seven months to travel to Mars and this could cause the structure of your blood vessels or the strength of your heart to change due to the weightlessness experienced as a result of zero gravity space travel”.

With the rise of commercial space flight agencies like Space X and Blue Origin, there’s more room for rich but not necessarily healthy people to go into space, so we want to use mathematical models to predict whether someone is fit to fly to Mars.

Astrophysicist and Emergency Medicine Registrar, Dr. Emma Tucker, explained that extended exposure to zero gravity could make the heart sluggish as it would not have to exert much force while pumping blood in the body to overcome gravity.

She elaborated, “When you’re on Earth, gravity is pulling fluid to the bottom half of our body, which is why some people find their legs begin to swell up toward the end of the day. But when you go into space that gravitational pull disappears, which means the fluid shifts to the top half of your body and that triggers a response that fools the body into thinking there’s too much fluid”.

Resultantly, the person frequently visits the toilet to eliminate the additional fluid, she said and added that the person stops feeling thirsty and drinks less, which leads to dehydration in space. This is why astronauts often faint when they set foot on earth again. Hence the longer a person stays in space, the more likely they are to faint after returning to Earth’s gravity, Dr. Tucker explained.

She added, “The purpose of our model is to predict, with great accuracy, whether an astronaut can safely arrive on Mars without fainting. We believe it’s possible”.

Astronauts must be able to carry out their responsibilities without getting immediate help from the support staff after a communication lag between Mars and Earth. Dr. van Loon detailed that this period of radio silence may persist for at least 20 minutes but may vary depending on how the sun, earth, and Mars are aligned in their orbits.

He said, “If an astronaut faints when they first step out of the spacecraft or if there’s a medical emergency, there will be nobody on Mars to help them,” and added, “This is why we must be absolutely certain the astronaut is fit to fly and can adapt to Mars’ gravitational field. They must be able to operate effectively and efficiently with minimal support during those crucial first few minutes”.

The model utilizes astronaut data collected from past space journeys, including Apollo Missions, to simulate the risks of going to Mars.

Although the data has been collected from middle-aged and well-trained astronauts, the researchers intend to enhance the model’s capability by replicating the effects of lengthy space travel on unhealthy people with cardiac issues. This would give the researchers a more complete picture of what would occur if an individual from the general public travels to space.