U.S. study finds weightlessness in human immune system decline

early 2004, U.SPresident George WBush proposed the U.SFuture Human Space Exploration Program, which aims to return U.Sastronauts to the moon by 2020 after the completion of the International Space Station in 2010 and explore the possibility of humans landing on Mars and beyondTo implement the plan, NASA has set concrete steps and begun designing and building new lunar launchers and spacecraft to study the challenges astronauts may face on space travel to and from MarsIn this plan, scientists believe that the most critical question for astronauts to travel long in space is whether humans can complete their mission unscathed and return to Earth unscathedIn past studies, scientists have focused on whether astronauts in space travel will be exposed to cosmic and solar radiation, and whether their bone strength and muscles will become dysfunctional in weightlessnessHowever, a recent study by scientists found that salmonella is more toxic in weightlessness, raising concerns about salmonella and other bacteria that could produce the same results in space, as they directly threaten the healthhealth of traveling astronauts
On December 10th the Washington Post published an article saying that Star Trek astronauts would face another, larger threat: that their body's immunity will weaken in space, making them more vulnerable to bacteria and viruses lurking in or around their bodiesThe news surprised many supporters of manned space flight, as astronauts' reduced immunity and increased bacterial attack capabilities could make human interstellar travel a difficult dream to achieveThe new findings are reported to have come from Hughes FulfordFreeford, a former astronaut, is currently working with NASA's support on the effects of microgravity on human immunityImmunity could be a potentially big problem for future astronauts preparing for long-distance trips to space and living on the moon, she saidBased on his own research, Fulford believes that weightlessness is a major factor in the decline of astronauts' immunity "Humans evolved in the gravitational field, so there is no doubt that certain systems of the human body, especially the immune and bone systems, are likely to experience anomalies when they lose the gravitational field," she said "
actually, more than 30 years ago, NASA learned during the Apollo moon landings that astronauts' immune systems had been temporarily inactive in space It was recorded that three members of a flight group had caught a cold at the same time In addition, a crew member of Apollo 13 developed severe hypothermia due to a bacterial infection Usually, the body only gets sick from infection with the bacteria when the immune system is suppressed So, in the later stages of the Apollo program, in order to ensure the health of the astronauts , managers adopted a pre-launch method of isolating the astronauts to ensure that they were protected from bacteria Scientists believe that for astronauts who have been working in space for a short time, the decline in immunity will not cause them serious physical health
problems, because their own physical fitness and people's disinfection of their space living environment will protect them from infection But for astronauts who have been on interstellar travel for long periods of time, including those who have been on the space station for a long time, people must find better ways to protect them To understand the causes and mechanisms of decreased immunity in space, Fulford studied human blood cells that had been sent into space She found that in weightlessness, some genes that turn on and off the immune system on the ground do not work properly, causing the body to fail to activate certain important infection resistance In addition, University of California scientist Deborah Kimbrel is working on fruit flies with FUNDing from NASA Although the study is not complete, preliminary results suggest that fruit flies also lose some of their ability to fight infection after traveling through space Like Fulford, Kimbour believes that weightlessness itself plays an important role in the immune system's abnormality Dr James Lewis, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the U.S space exploration program is divided into two categories of unmanned and manned exploration, and he is more personally supportive of unmanned exploration programs Over the past few decades, the U.S has made remarkable achievements in unmanned space exploration, such as the arrival of the Voyager probe on the edge of the solar system and the arrival of robots on Mars In terms of manned spaceflight, although American astronauts have successfully landed on the moon, but people do not yet have the conditions for deep space travel, many problems are still unknown He believes that interstellar-travel astronauts may also have psychological problems, and that astronauts currently working on the International Space Station may not be able to complete missions to and from Mars Because on the space station, astronauts can see the Earth through the window, and human life still maintains a corresponding connection But during the six-month interstellar journey of manned Mars, astronauts could only drift as endlessly as Magellan Global, psychological unpredictable (Reporter Mao Li)