Why We’ll Never Live in Space

From an article by Sarah Scoles in the October 2023 issue of  Scientific American October 

"Human bodies really can't handle space. Spaceflight damages DNA, changes the microbiome, disrupts circadian rhythms, impairs vision, increases the risk of cancer, causes muscle and bone loss, inhibits the immune system, weakens the heart, and shifts fluids toward the head, which may be pathological for the brain over the long term—among other things."

Physiology aside, the economics don't add up.  The cyber moguls currently leading the way into space only do so because of vast subsidies made available from the U.S. budget.  The project will never be more than a great drain of resources.  Furthermore, the resources launched into the void beyond Earth's atmosphere are not then available for other vital priorities which are actually supported by a majority of citizens -- housing, equitable health care, coping with climate change, curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons...

None of the above, of course, will deflect the enthusiasm for space exploration among people who have been drenched in decades of Star Trek reruns.  The lure of  casting aside all the old habits and constraints and overcoming great challenges is nearly irresistible -- not to mention those spiffy Star Trek uniforms.

Not mentioned in the Scientific American article was a possible substitution for the challenge of Space which does not require absorbing large doses of radiation.  That is the exploration of the Earth's oceans which cover 70 percent of the planet's surface and account for 97 percent of our water.  Millennia of engagement with the seas have clearly only skimmed their surfaces.

The challenges of penetrating and living in the depths are surely in many ways as daunting as those presented by Space exploration, but the potential real benefits are greatly more tangible, and the solution to meeting the challenges are more a matter of adhering to sound science rather than pushing human physiology beyond sustainable limits.

Katsushika Hokusai

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Update:

For a good example of NASA boosterism about space travel see the recent NY Times article,

Maybe in Your Lifetime, People Will Live on the Moon and Then Mars

"NASA believes that with 3-D printing and soil made out of moon dust, they can create a subdivision in space in the next two decades."

The article is all about tech gimmicks, with no mention of the daunting challenges to human physiology posed by life in Space detailed in the Scientific American piece.

An American Radical

 

I have hesitated writing about Susan L. Rosenberg and her book, An American Radical:: Political Prisoner in My Own Country I came across the book recently by accident while browsing through biographies in the collection of my local library.  It was published over twenty years ago and therefore not in great demand and easily available.

It may be the best book I have ever read.  I'm sure I will be unable to adequately support that judgement with my words.  Of course, that is of no real consequence since anyone else can easily acquire the book and make their own judgements about its value.

Rosenberg was arrested in 1984 in the act of transporting explosives and guns to support armed rebellion.  She was given a fifty-eight year sentence, of which she spent sixteen in high-security prisons around the country.  She ultimately won a commutation of her sentence in the last hours of the Clinton presidency.

An American Radical presents a vividly detailed account of what it is like to face a life in the American system of incarceration.  Rosenberg survived the experience thanks to allies in and out of prison, along with her stamina, intellectual capacities, and emotional resilience.  Those same qualities allowed her to craft her epic story and -- unlike the vast majority of inmates -- to come out a better, more complete, person than when she went in.

The Best Possible Outcome

 Four Colombian children found alive in jungle weeks after plane crash

Reuters 

The Guardian  The Guardian(2)

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My own memories of the rainforest and indigenous survival skills.

An additional sad note reported on 6/11 in The Guardian was that the mother survived for four days after the crash and ultimately told the children to leave to look for help.  The wreckage was not found for two weeks after the crash.

Survival

 There was a great story this morning from Reuters: 

Colombian children found alive in jungle weeks after plane crash

The details of this epic story were slim, but the opening line contains the vital clue: "Four children from an Indigenous community in Colombia..."

That the children survived the crash while all the adults perished was a great stroke of luck, but their subsequent survival can be attributed to a lifestyle based on very early learning about the sustainable exploitation of natural resources.

As it happens, I am familiar with the area where the plane went down in southern Colombia  from a youthful adventure many years in the past.  I have written here several times about my travels there and one of those posts briefly deals with the indigenous survival techniques which are provided to children from the time they began to walk.  (I am reminded of the fable of Br'er Rabbit and the Brian Patch.)

The Reuters story has the makings of a great book or a film.  It would be nice should such a project be undertaken if some of the benefits could accrue to the children and their community.  The danger is, of course, that such exposure will ultimately result in an erosion of cultural traditions and a degradation of environmental integrity.

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UPDATE (5/18/23)

Well, it appears now that the story might not have a real happy ending.  An article in La Prensa says that the President of Colombia has announced the the children have not been found.  We'll just have to hope for the best...

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UPDATE (5/19/23 - La Prensa)

Los militares hallaron el biberón del bebé y encontraron huellas recientes de pisadas de los niños cerca de un caño. Según fuentes de la zona, hay esperanzas de que hayan sobrevivido debido a que están familiarizados con la selva y sus recursos. La búsqueda es aún más difícil porque la lluvia hace que los rastros se borren más rápido.

The military found the baby's bottle and encountered recent footprints of the children near a stream. According to sources in the area, there is hope that they have survived because they are familiar with the jungle and its resources. The search is even more difficult because the rain makes the tracks disappear faster.

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The children were found forty days after the crash with no injuries and in good health, thanks to the care and skills of the oldest girl.