NASA astronauts return home after major delay. Their extended stay could have health consequences

On March 14, a journey that was originally supposed to be more than a week – but extends to nine months – ended. NASA astronauts Sony Williams and Boot Wilmor He was chosen on the first test tested on Boeing Starliner and was supposed to stay only at the International Space Station for 10 days, but when NASA has discovered many helium leaks and payment system issues In the spacecraft, the agency decided to send it empty so that another mission can be sent to get astronauts.

This is not like some of the low -gravitational version of “The Terminal”, where travelers are stuck in forgetfulness due to some administrative defect. Space can have a devastating and deep health effects on astronauts, which means that Williams and Wilmmore on ISS can lead to clear effects on their bodies.

The launch in space requires submission to “G-FORCE” more than twice as much as we experience on Earth, and he is the former NASA astronaut Dr. Sandy Magnus once Described You have to have “Gorilla 70 lb sitting on your chest.” But this is the last pioneer of the gravitational space before re -introducing the Earth’s atmosphere once their mission is complete, and as soon as they enter orbit, they will spend the rest of their time in space floating in their seats.

But the effects of gravity – or their absence – are just the beginning of how space is to treat the human body. Everything is aggravated to genetic changes A rash develops upon arrival – Even he no longer feels accustomed to the touch of the tissue on a person’s clothes – It was reported in the people who went to space.

“In general, the environment in space is causing a quick model of the disease, and what we say is an accelerated model of aging,” said Dr. Afchin Bishti, Director of the Biomedical Medicine Center at the University of Pittsburgh. “But you do not get older faster, this is that all things associated with aging, such as the risk of cardiovascular or cognitive issues … everything speeds up in space because of that environment.”

This week, four astronauts took off to the International Space Station, where the spacecraft Williams and Welmore will pick up before returning home. At this stage, Williams and Wilmmore were in space for nine months, and only joined Eight other astronauts spent more than 200 days in space. (NASA astronaut Frank Rubio holds the record in 371 days.) Which we know about the effects of space on health, it will take some time to recover from the trip.

“When we go back, even to raise a pencil, we will feel weigh,” Wilmor said in A. CNN interview last month. “This is the transition.”

This is partly because on the ground, the force of gravity constantly works on the skeleton, which stimulates bone construction cells called bone cells that maintain our bone density. Without this strength, bone density, muscles and weaknesses can weaken, even though the bone becomes 1 % less intense per month spent in space Without any measures it is implemented to combat bone loss.

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Although Williams and Wilmmore are practicing daily to alleviate these effects, they are more likely to have suffered greatly from the loss of bone density when they return. Dr. Stefan Gilmour, NASA, said that Willmore and Williams will meet medical teams who can help them start a 45 -day post -flight recovery program.

“They are working closely with the coaches, and they devote two hours every day to return to the state of health and fitness before the trip,” Gilmour wrote to a salon in an e -mail. “In general, most of the physiological systems of crew members recover during this time frame.”

For comparison, after NASA Squot Kelly suddenly spent one year in space, He had to learn how to walk againHe said my fragrance.

“Being a year in space, it takes some time until they have to compensate for the damage that occurred,” he said, Salon, in an interview over the phone.

Kelly participated in The twin study conducted by NASAWhere many vital indicators have been compared to his twin brother (Senator Mark KellyWhat remained on the ground. After a space journey, Kelly had more symptoms of heart disease than his brother and showed symptoms of something called SANS, as blood and spicy fluid are transmitted to the top of the legs to the head without the strength of gravity, which affects the brain and vision.

“He didn’t wear glasses before he went, but he returned and started wearing the glasses,” Bishti said.

In addition, the disorders of the inner clock of the body can affect and eat space cycles. Some studies also showed this Cognitive treatment speeds of astronauts were slower in spaceAlthough these changes returned to the foundation line when returning to Earth. Similar results were found in Research research research in civilians who went to space.

“Sometimes people’s performance is better in space, and they are more focused, in some way,” said Dr. Chris Masson, a professor of biological physics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. “But sometimes people become a little slower. It really depends on a crew member.”

Radiation is also much stronger in space without the protective ozone layer on Earth for storing it, and it can have many effects on the body at the cellular level. Every week, astronauts spend on ISS, the radiation they test is That is, the equivalent of about one year of exposure to the groundAlthough this can vary depending on the number of solar flabers or cosmic rays in space.

It has been shown that this radiation affects the function of mitochondria in the cell, which can have effects in the river course on the body.

“Mitochondria is your vital wealthy science, so your energy is produced in your body by all mitochondria in your cells,” he said. “When vital science is damaged, you can imagine that it has harmful effects … affecting the immune system and daily rhythm.”

The exposure to radiation has been associated at these levels with a high risk of My heart disease, cancer, And other degenerative disorders that affect the eyes. The researchers were able to measure many vital indicators in astronauts who went to space and found that exposure to radiation and anti -gurious greatly affects the immune function as well.

In the 2024 study published in Communications biology, Masson found that astronauts who spent time in space had longer telomeres, or structures at the end of chromosomes that protect DNA. Although the telomeres are longer associated with young people, they are also associated with some cancers.

Mason’s research has also found that many genes involved in the immune system were activated with a space trip, and it is assumed that it is a response to stress that the body is placed in these conditions.

“There are also anti -inflammatory signs called Interleukins that are activated, and we saw some of them almost every task, so we expect to be here,” Mason told a salon in an interview over the phone. “We see a lot of genes to repair the DNA is activated, such as the body discovers some damage and then repairing this damage, which is a natural response to adaptation.”

Mason said these effects increase more than a period of astronauts in space, although about 95 % of these cellular changes go back to the foundation within a few weeks of astronauts returning to Earth. For Kelly, 90 % of the genes changes that he suffered to normal returned within six months. In the Masson study, the telomere changes returned to the foundation within a few days.

However, there are individual differences that can affect the speed of the astronaut and scientists who are constantly looking for what affects the risk of the disease for astronauts.

Scientists have not yet discovered a way to completely prevent radiation, which interacts with the body as invisible, rapidly moving particles that can disassemble DNA. However, efforts are made to test new small molecules in rodents that can improve radiation resistance. This can have effects not only on astronauts in space, but patients on Earth are forced to undergo gas radiation treatments.

Others study whether there is an inherited form of “artificial hibernation” that can protect from some harmful effects of radiation. In recent studies, the same process was stimulated by the squirrels and bears in the winter Reducing radiation toxicity.

“When there is radiation damage in your body, you create interactive oxygen types that cause things in the direction of the river course to influence your immune system and such things with mitochondria suppression,” said Bishti. “But when your body closes in this case of this hibernation, as in these animals, the interactive oxygen types that stop producing them stop as much, and it seems that there is less harm due to radiation.”

The commercial space flight started in recent years and billionaires like Musk is increasingly pushing the transition to MarsThese issues highlight the fungal challenges of humans – who have evolved over millions of years to live under the influence of gravity and atmosphere on Earth – in an attempt to expand our arrival in outer space.

Willmore and Williams will undoubtedly need some time to recover from their long journey, but they have devoted years to preparing for the experiment. However, they don’t seem to bother the extra time they spend in orbit.

“I think that we both will be a little sad when this feeling of space left us after about 24 hours,” Williams said in an interview with CNN. “This means that space flight has ended physically.”

revision: A previous version of this story stated incorrectly that Starliner is a SpaceX spacecraft. Starliner was developed by Boeing.