1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

Studies suggest zero gravity environments have negative effects on the human brain

By

penn state astronaut waste nastronaut
NASA
At some point if your life, you’ve probably had aspirations about space travel. After all, it seems like every five-year-old wants to be an astronaut, and as missions to the moon, Mars, and other extraterrestrial bodies become more and more accessible, the idea of jetting off Earth seems less and less far-fetched. But before you get too excited about going into space, you might want to consider the effects space missions have on the human brain. As it turns out, the effects are a bit alarming.

As NASA begins its search for new astronauts to populate the International Space Station and travel to Mars, new studies from the agency are also warning candidates of the potential physiological toll that being away from the planet for extended periods of time may have. In fact, a number of different studies have suggested that long missions in outer space have significant effects on astronauts’ brains — as one recent NASA study found, “a microgravity environment can lead to changes in brain structure and take a serious toll on astronauts’ ability to think.” According to its results, astronauts who’d spent six months on the ISS “had a more difficult time completing mental tasks and with physical coordination.”

Recommended Videos

Furthermore, preliminary findings from an ongoing European Space Agency and Roscosmos study reveal that the cortex of the brain actually reorganizes itself in order to adapt to the new environment at play in space. While the study will continue into 2018, initial discoveries have already been published in the journal Brain Structure and Function.

Given that human beings are not meant to exist in space, it comes as little surprise that there are a number of factors in outer space that take a toll on our bodies. “Factors that can have an impact consist of, but are not limited to, weightlessness, cosmic radiation, isolation, confinement and disturbed day-night rhythm,” Angelique Van Ombergen of the University of Antwerp told The Huffington Post. “As one can imagine, all these factors can have an impact on the human brain, as they are new, challenging and stressful.”

But these results aren’t just meant to scare people away from venturing into space — rather, better understanding the effects of space travel could help scientists figure out how to adapt astronauts and their extraterrestrial environments to the extenuating circumstances at play. After all, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to stop going to Mars anytime soon, so we better learn all we can about how to get there safely, and fast.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Voyager 1 spacecraft is still alive and sending signals to Earth

NASA's two Voyager spacecraft, launched in the 1970s, have passed beyond the orbit of Pluto and into interstellar space, making them the most distant man-made objects to exist in the universe. However, as you'd expect from technology that is nearly 50 years old, the pair of probes have had their share of technical difficulties in their time. But now, NASA has announced that it is back in contact with Voyager 1, around five months after communications with the spacecraft were disrupted. The remarkable pair of explorers continue out into the depths of space to fight another day.

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Read more
Astronauts take major step toward Starliner’s first crewed flight

The official crew portrait for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. From left are Suni Williams, who will serve as the pilot, and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, spacecraft commander. NASA

After numerous delays across many years, NASA is closer than ever to launching its first astronauts aboard the Boeing-made CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

Read more
Celebrate Hubble’s 34th birthday with this gorgeous nebula image

Tomorrow, April 24, marks the 34th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. For more than three decades, this venerable old telescope has been peering out into space, observing stars, galaxies, and nebulae to understand more about the universe we live in. To celebrate this birthday, Hubble scientists have shared a new image showing the striking Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, which is located 3,400 light-years away.

In celebration of the 34th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s legendary Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers took a snapshot of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, or M76, located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. NASA, ESA, STScI

Read more