Biological research in space. Project on astronomy and biology on the topic "cosmonautics" Features of the flow of biological processes in space

Powerful forces conspired against you - in particular, gravity. If an object above the Earth's surface wants to fly freely, it must literally shoot upwards at speeds in excess of 43,000 kilometers per hour. This entails large financial costs.

For example, it took nearly $200 million to launch the Curiosity rover to Mars. And if we talk about a mission with crew members, then the amount will increase significantly.

The reusable use of flying ships will help save money. Rockets, for example, were designed to be reusable, and as we know, there are already successful landing attempts.

2. Flight

Flying through space is easy. It's a vacuum, after all; nothing slows you down. But when launching a rocket, difficulties arise. The greater the mass of an object, the more force is needed to move it, and rockets have a huge mass.

Chemical propellants are great for initial boost, but precious kerosene burns up in minutes. Impulse acceleration will make it possible to fly to Jupiter in 5-7 years. That's a hell of a lot of in-flight movies. We need a radical new method to develop flight speed.

Congratulations! You have successfully launched a rocket into orbit. But before you break out into space, a piece of an old satellite will appear out of nowhere and crash into your fuel tank. That's it, there are no more rockets.

This is a space junk problem, and it's very real. The "American Surveillance Network" for outer space has detected 17,000 objects - each the size of a ball - rushing around the Earth at speeds greater than 28,000 km per hour; and nearly 500,000 more debris smaller than 10 cm. Launch adapters, lens caps, even a splash of paint can bleed through critical systems.

Whipple's shields - layers of metal and Kevlar - can protect you from tiny parts, but nothing can save you from a whole satellite. There are about 4,000 of them in Earth orbit, most of them killed in the air. Flight control helps avoid dangerous paths, but it's not perfect.

Pushing them out of orbit is not realistic - it would take an entire mission to get rid of just one dead satellite. So now all the satellites will fall out of orbit on their own. They will blast extra fuel overboard and then use rocket boosters or a solar sail to head down to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

4. Navigation

The "Deep Space Network", antennas in California, Australia, and Spain, are the only navigational tool for space. Everything that launches into space, from student project satellites to the New Horizons probe roaming the Kopeyre Belt, depends on them.

But with more missions, the network gets crowded. The switchboard is often busy. So in the near future, NASA is working to lighten the load. Atomic clocks on the ships themselves would cut transmission times in half, allowing distances to be calculated with a single transmission of information from space. And increasing the bandwidth of lasers will process large data packets such as photos or video messages.

But the farther the rockets get from the Earth, the less reliable this method becomes. Sure, radio waves travel at the speed of light, but transmissions into deep space still take hours. And the stars may show you the direction, but they are too far away to tell you where you are.

Deep space navigation expert Joseph Ginn wants to design an autonomous system for future missions that would collect images of targets and nearby objects and use their relative locations to triangulate coordinates. spaceship that does not require any ground control.

It will be like GPS on Earth. You put a GPS receiver on your car and the problem is solved.

5. Radiation

Outside the safe cocoon of Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, you are waiting for cosmic radiation, and it is deadly. Besides cancer, it can also cause cataracts and possibly Alzheimer's disease.

When subatomic particles hit the aluminum atoms that make up the spacecraft's hull, their nuclei explode, releasing more ultra-fast particles called secondary radiation.

Solution? One word: plastic. It's light and strong, and it's full of hydrogen atoms whose small nuclei don't produce much secondary radiation. NASA is testing a plastic that can mitigate radiation in spacecraft or space suits.

Or how about this word: magnets. Scientists at the Space Radiation Shield Superconductivity Project are working on magnesium diboride, a superconductor that would deflect charged particles away from a ship.

6. Food and water

Last August, astronauts on the ISS ate some lettuce they had grown in space for the first time. But large-scale gardening in zero gravity is tricky. Water floats around in bubbles instead of seeping through the soil, which is why engineers invented ceramic pipes to channel water down to plant roots.

Some vegetables are already quite space-efficient, but scientists are working on a genetically engineered pygmy plum that is less than a meter tall. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates can be replenished through a more varied crop - like potatoes and peanuts.

But all this will be in vain if you exhaust all the water. (The ISS urine and water recycling system needs periodic repairs, and interplanetary crews can't count on new parts to be restocked.) GMOs can help here, too. Michael Flynn, a NASA research engineer, is working on a water filter made from genetically modified bacteria. He compared it to how the small intestine processes what you drink. Basically you are a water recycling system with a useful life of 75 or 80 years.

7. Muscles and bones

Weightlessness destroys the body: certain immune cells are unable to do their job, and red blood cells explode. This contributes to kidney stones and makes your heart lazy.

Astronauts on the ISS train to fight muscle wasting and bone loss, but they still lose bone mass in space, and those weightless spin cycles don't help other problems. Artificial gravity would fix all that.

In his laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, former astronaut Lawrence Young conducts tests on a centrifuge: the test subjects lie on their side on a platform and pedal with their feet on a stationary wheel, while the whole structure gradually spins around its axis. The resulting force acts on the legs of the astronauts, vaguely resembling a gravitational effect.

Young's simulator is too limited, it can be used for more than an hour or two a day, for constant gravity, the whole spacecraft would have to become a centrifuge.

8. Mental health

When a person has a stroke or heart attack, doctors sometimes lower the patient's temperature by slowing their metabolism to reduce damage from lack of oxygen. It's a trick that could work for astronauts too. Interplanetary travel for a year (at least), living in a cramped spaceship with bad food and zero privacy is a recipe for space madness.

That's why John Bradford says we should sleep on time space travel. President of the engineering firm SpaceWorks and co-author of a report for NASA on long missions, Bradford believes that cryogenically freezing the crew will cut down on food, water, and keep the crew from mental breakdown.

9. Landing

Planet hello! You have been in space for many months or even several years. The distant world is finally visible through your porthole. All you have to do is land. But you are rolling through frictionless space at 200,000 miles per hour. Oh, yes, and then there is the gravity of the planet.

The landing problem is still one of the most urgent that engineers have to solve. Remember the unsuccessful one on Mars.

10. Resources

When spaceships go on a long journey, they will take supplies from Earth with them. But you can't take everything with you. Seeds, oxygen generators, maybe a few infrastructure building machines. But the settlers will have to do the rest themselves.

Fortunately space is not entirely barren. “Each planet has all the chemical elements, although the concentrations differ,” says Ian Crawford, a planetary scientist at Birkbeck, University of London. The moon has a lot of aluminum. Mars has quartz and iron oxide. Neighboring asteroids are a great source of carbon and platinum ores - and water, once pioneers figure out how to blow up matter in space. If the fuses and drillers are too heavy to take on a ship, they will have to extract the fossils by other methods: melting, magnets, or metal-digesting microbes. And NASA is looking into a 3D printing process to print entire buildings - and there won't be any need to import special equipment.

11. Research

Dogs helped humans colonize the Earth, but they wouldn't survive on. To expand into the new world, we will need a new best friend: a robot.

Planet colonization requires a lot of hard work, and robots can dig all day long without having to eat or breathe. The current prototypes are large and bulky, and can hardly move on the ground. So the robots should not look like us, it could be a light steerable bot with claws in the shape of an excavator bucket designed by NASA to dig ice on Mars.

However, if the work requires dexterity and precision, then human fingers are indispensable. Today's space suit is designed for weightlessness, not for hiking on an exoplanet. NASA's Z-2 prototype has flexible joints and a helmet that gives a clear view of any fine-grained wiring needs.

12. Space is huge

The fastest thing humans have ever built is a probe called Helios 2. It is no longer functional, but if there was sound in space, you would hear it scream, as it is still orbiting the sun at speeds greater than 157,000 mph. This is almost 100 times faster than a bullet, but even at that speed it would take approximately 19,000 years to reach our nearest star, Alpha Centauri. During such a long flight, thousands of generations would change. And hardly anyone dreams of dying of old age in a spaceship.

To conquer time we need energy - a lot of energy. Perhaps you could mine enough helium 3 on Jupiter for fusion (after we invent fusion engines, of course). Theoretically, near-light speeds can be achieved using the energy of annihilation of matter and antimatter, but doing this on Earth is dangerous.

“You would never want to do this on Earth,” says Le Johnson, a NASA technician who works on crazy starship ideas. “If you do this in outer space and something goes wrong, you are not destroying a continent.” Too much? How about solar energy? All you need is a sail the size of Texas.

A much more elegant solution to crack the source code of the universe is with the help of physics. Miguel Alcubierre's theoretical drive would compress space-time in front of your ship and expand behind it so you could travel faster than the speed of light.

Mankind will need a few more Einsteins working in places like the Large Hadron Collider to unravel all the theoretical knots. It is possible that we will make some discovery that will change everything, but this breakthrough is unlikely to save the current situation. If you want to more discoveries you should invest big money in them.

13. There is only one Earth

A couple of decades ago, sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson sketched out a future utopia on Mars, built by scientists from an overpopulated, overstressed Earth. His "Martian Trilogy" made a powerful push for colonization. But, in fact, other than science, why do we strive for space?

The need to explore is in our genes, this is the only argument - a pioneering spirit and a desire to know our destiny. “A few years ago, dreams of space exploration occupied our imagination,” recalls NASA astronomer Heidi Hummel. - We spoke the language of brave space explorers, but everything changed after the New Horizons station in July 2015. The entire diversity of the worlds of the solar system has opened up before us.”

But what about the fate and destiny of mankind? Historians know better. The expansion of the West was a land grab, and the great explorers were mostly in it for resources or treasures. Human desire to change places is expressed only in the service of political or economic desire.

Of course, the impending destruction of the Earth can be a stimulus. Deplete the planet's resources, change the climate, and space will become the only hope for survival.

But this is a dangerous line of thought. This creates a moral hazard. People think that if we can start from scratch somewhere on Mars. This is a wrong judgment.

As far as we know, Earth is the only habitable place in the known universe. And if we are going to leave this planet, then this should be our desire, and not the result of a stalemate.

SPACE MEDICINE, a field of medicine that studies the characteristics of human life under the influence of space flight factors in order to develop means and methods for maintaining the health and performance of crews of spacecraft and stations. The main tasks of space medicine: study of the influence of space flight (SF) factors on the human body; development of means of prevention and protection against the adverse effects of their impact; physiological and sanitary-hygienic substantiation of the requirements for the life support system of manned aircraft, as well as for crew rescue equipment in case of emergency. Important areas of space medicine; development of clinical and psychophysiological methods and criteria for the selection and preparation of cosmonauts for flight; development of means and methods of medical control at all stages of flight; addressing the issues of prevention and treatment of diseases in flight and elimination of the adverse effects of long-term flight landings. Space medicine is closely related to space biology, space physiology and psychophysiology, space radiobiology, etc.

Space medicine goes back to aviation medicine, and its development is due to the creation of rocket technology and the achievements of astronautics. Biological and physiological studies on animals and with the use of rockets and satellite ships made it possible to test life support systems, study the physiological effects of CP factors and substantiate the possibility and safety of it for humans. The activities of domestic scientists made it possible to solve a number of fundamental and applied problems of space medicine, including the creation of an effective system of medical support for health and active human activity in manned spacecraft. This was facilitated by a large amount of research and experiments performed in our country in the 1960-1990s, both in ground model conditions and in the spacecraft on the Vostok, Voskhod, Soyuz spacecraft, orbital stations of the Salyut series, "Mir" and automatic devices (biological satellites) of the "Bion" series.

In a space flight, the human body is affected by factors associated with flight dynamics (acceleration, noise, vibration, weightlessness, etc.); factors associated with staying in the so-called hermetically sealed premises of small volume with an artificial habitat. The complex effect of these factors during the flight does not always allow establishing strict cause-and-effect relationships of recorded deviations of physiological parameters in humans at different stages of flight.

Among all the factors of CP, weightlessness (microgravity) is unique and practically unreproducible under laboratory conditions. In the initial period of its action, there is a displacement of body fluids in the cranial (towards the head) direction due to the removal of hydrostatic pressure, as well as signs of the so-called motion sickness due to a mismatch in the activity of sensory systems, etc. Medical and biological studies have shown that the development of adaptive reactions is practically of all physiological systems of the body to stay in conditions of prolonged weightlessness can lead to adverse consequences - cardiovascular decompensation, orthostatic instability, muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, etc. vibration stands, pressure chambers, immersion stands, etc.).

The creation, launch and expansion of the ISS required the development and implementation of common system medical support of the CP. Medical support is a system of organizational, medical, sanitary-hygienic and medical-technical measures aimed at maintaining and maintaining the health and performance of cosmonauts at all stages of their activity. Includes: medical selection and examination of astronauts; medical and biological training of crews; medical and sanitary support for the development of manned spacecraft; development of onboard means of medical and biological support; medical support for the health and performance of cosmonauts; monitoring the health of the crew and the environment in the living compartments of orbital stations (sanitary and hygienic and radiation control); prevention of adverse effects of CP factors on the body, medical care according to indications; medical support for the health of crew members in the post-flight period, including medical rehabilitation measures.

To prevent adverse reactions of the human body at different stages of the flight (including the post-flight rehabilitation period), a set of pre-flight preparatory and preventive measures and means is used: a treadmill, a bicycle ergometer, a vacuum suit that simulates negative pressure on the lower half of the body, training load suits, expanders, water - salt additives, pharmacological agents, etc. The main goal of preventive measures is to counteract adaptation to weightlessness, which is achieved by creating an axial load on the body, physical training, simulating the effect of hydrostatic blood pressure, balanced nutrition with its possible correction. The effectiveness of these measures is confirmed by long-term CPs of domestic crews.

The high biological activity of various types of cosmic radiation determines the importance of measures to create dosimetry tools, determine permissible doses during spacecraft, develop means and methods for preventing and protecting against the damaging effects of cosmic radiation. Ensuring radiation safety is of particular importance with an increase in the range and duration of spacecraft, especially interplanetary ones. To ensure the performance of work in open space or on the surface of planets, as well as to save life in the event of depressurization of a ship or station, space suits with a life support system are used.

Space medicine also studies the development mechanisms and methods for preventing decompression sickness; the effects of reduced (hypoxia) and increased (hyperoxia) oxygen content; change in daily regimes; psychology of compatibility of crew members. Human life support on manned spacecraft and orbital stations is created by a set of equipment, the effectiveness of which is monitored by sanitary-hygienic and microbiological studies of the atmosphere, water, interior surfaces, etc. A special section of space medicine is dedicated to the selection and training of cosmonauts.

The Russian Space Agency coordinates all space activities in the Russian Federation, including medical support for the spacecraft. The Institute of Biomedical Problems is the State Research Center that studies the problems of space medicine and is responsible for the health of cosmonauts in the spacecraft. The Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center is the lead organization at the stages of selection and medical and biological preparation for the spacecraft and post-flight rehabilitation. A section on space biology and medicine operates as part of the RAS Scientific Council for Space. The journal "Aerospace and Ecological Medicine" is devoted to the problems of space medicine. Special courses in space physiology and medicine are included in the curricula of the Faculty of Medicine and Biology of the Russian State medical university and Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Moscow State University.

In the United States, NASA coordinates work on space medicine problems; in Europe, the European Space Agency (ESA); in Japan, the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA); in Canada, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The largest international organizations- Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Lit.: Brief reference book on space biology and medicine. 2nd ed. M., 1972; Fundamentals of space biology and medicine. Joint Soviet-American edition: In 3 volumes / Edited by O. G. Gazenko, M. Calvin. M., 1975; Space biology and medicine: Joint Soviet-American edition: In 5 vols. M., 1994-2001.

GOU Lyceum No. 000

Kalininsky district of St. Petersburg

Research

Biomedical research in space

Gurshev Oleg

Head: biology teacher

St. Petersburg, 2011

Introduction 2

Start of medical biological research in the middle of the 20th century. 3

The impact of space flight on the human body. 6

Exobiology. ten

Prospects for the development of research. fourteen

List of used sources. 17

Application (presentation, experiments) 18

Introduction

Space biology and medicine- a complex science that studies the features of the life of a person and other organisms in a space flight. The main task of research in the field of space biology and medicine is the development of means and methods for life support, maintaining the health and performance of crew members of spacecraft and stations during flights of various durations and degrees of complexity. Space biology and medicine is inextricably linked with astronautics, astronomy, astrophysics, geophysics, biology, aviation medicine, and many other sciences.

The relevance of the topic is quite large in our modern and fast-paced XXI century.

The topic "Medical and biological research" interested me recent years two, ever since I decided on my choice of profession, so I decided to do research work on this topic.

2011 is an anniversary year - 50 years since the first human flight into space.

Beginning of Biomedical Research in the middleXXcentury

The following milestones are considered the starting points in the development of space biology and medicine: 1949 - for the first time, the possibility of conducting biological research during rocket flights appeared; 1957 - for the first time a living creature (the dog Laika) was sent to a near-Earth orbital flight on the second artificial Earth satellite; 1961 - the first manned flight into space, perfect. With the aim of scientific justification the possibilities of a medically safe flight of a person into space, the tolerance of impacts characteristic of the launch, orbital flight, descent and landing of spacecraft (SCV) to Earth was studied, and the operation of biotelemetric equipment and systems for supporting the life of astronauts was tested. The main attention was paid to studying the effect of weightlessness and cosmic radiation on the body.

Laika (dog astronaut) 1957

R The results obtained in the course of biological experiments on rockets, the second artificial satellite (1957), rotated spacecraft-satellites (1960-1961), in combination with data from ground-based clinical, physiological, psychological, hygienic and other studies, actually opened the way man into space. In addition, biological experiments in space at the stage of preparation for the first human space flight made it possible to identify a number of functional changes that occur in the body under the influence of flight factors, which was the basis for planning subsequent experiments on animal and plant organisms during flights of manned spacecraft, orbital stations and biosatellites. . The world's first biological satellite with an experimental animal - the dog "Laika". Launched into orbit on 11/03/1957 and stayed there for 5 months. The satellite existed in orbit until April 14, 1958. The satellite had two radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming device, scientific instruments for studying solar radiation and cosmic rays, regeneration and thermal control systems to maintain conditions in the cabin necessary for the existence of the animal. The first scientific information about the state of a living organism under conditions of space flight has been obtained.

Achievements in the field of space biology and medicine largely predetermined success in the development of manned astronautics. Along with flight , committed on April 12, 1961, it should be noted such epoch-making events in the history of astronautics as the landing of astronauts on July 21, 1969 Armstrong(N. Armstrong) and Aldrin(E. Aldrin) to the surface of the Moon and multi-month (up to a year) crew flights on the Salyut and Mir orbital stations. This became possible thanks to the development of the theoretical foundations of space biology and medicine, the methodology for conducting medical and biological research in space flights, the justification and implementation of methods for the selection and pre-flight training of astronauts, as well as the development of life support, medical control, maintaining the health and working capacity of crew members in flight.

Apollo 11 team (left to right): Neil. A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, Commander Edwin (Buzz) E. Aldrin.

The impact of space flight on the human body

In space flight, the human body is affected by a complex of factors related to flight dynamics (acceleration, vibration, noise, weightlessness), stay in a sealed room of a limited volume (altered gas environment, hypokinesia, neuro-emotional stress, etc.), as well as factors of outer space as a habitat (cosmic radiation, ultraviolet radiation, etc.).

At the beginning and end of a space flight, the body is affected by linear accelerations . Their magnitudes, rise gradient, time and direction of action during the period of launching and insertion of the spacecraft into near-Earth orbit depend on the characteristics of the rocket and space complex, and during the period of return to Earth - on the ballistic characteristics of the flight and the type of spacecraft. Performing maneuvers in orbit is also accompanied by the impact of accelerations on the body, however, their magnitudes during flights of modern spacecraft are insignificant.

Launch of the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Basic information about the effect of accelerations on the human body and ways to protect against their adverse effects were obtained during research in the field of aviation medicine, space biology and medicine only supplemented this information. It was found that staying in weightlessness, especially for a long time, leads to a decrease in the body's resistance to the action of accelerations. In this regard, a few days before the descent from orbit, the cosmonauts switch to a special regime of physical training, and immediately before the descent they receive water-salt supplements to increase the degree of hydration of the body and the volume of circulating blood. Special chairs have been developed - lodgments and anti-g suits, which provide an increase in the tolerance of accelerations during the return of astronauts to Earth.

Among all factors of space flight, weightlessness is constant and practically unreproducible under laboratory conditions. Its influence on the body is diverse. There are both non-specific adaptive reactions characteristic of chronic stress, and a variety of specific changes caused by a violation of the interaction of the sensory systems of the body, the redistribution of blood in the upper half of the body, a decrease in dynamic and almost complete removal of static loads on the musculoskeletal system.

ISS summer 2008

Examinations of cosmonauts and numerous experiments on animals during the flights of the Kosmos biosatellites made it possible to establish that the leading role in the occurrence of specific reactions combined in the symptom complex of the space form of motion sickness (sickness) belongs to the vestibular apparatus. This is due to an increase in the excitability of otolith and semicircular canal receptors under weightless conditions and a disruption in the interaction of the vestibular analyzer and other sensory systems of the body. Under conditions of weightlessness, humans and animals show signs of detraining of the cardiovascular system, an increase in blood volume in the vessels of the chest, congestion in the liver and kidneys, changes in cerebral circulation, and a decrease in plasma volume. Due to the fact that under conditions of weightlessness the secretion of antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone and the functional state of the kidneys change, hypohydration of the body develops. At the same time, the content of extracellular fluid decreases and the excretion of calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, sodium, potassium and magnesium salts from the body increases. Changes in the musculoskeletal system occur mainly in those departments that, in normal conditions life on Earth bear the greatest static load, i.e., the muscles of the back and lower extremities, in the bones of the lower extremities and vertebrae. There is a decrease in their functionality, a slowdown in the rate of periosteal bone formation, osteoporosis of the spongy substance, decalcification and other changes that lead to a decrease in the mechanical strength of the bones.

In the initial period of adaptation to weightlessness (takes on average about 7 days), approximately every second cosmonaut experiences dizziness, nausea, movement incoordination, impaired perception of body position in space, a feeling of a rush of blood to the head, difficulty in nasal breathing, and worsening of appetite. In some cases, this leads to a decrease in overall performance, which makes it difficult to perform professional duties. Already at the initial stage of the flight, initial signs of changes in the muscles and bones of the limbs appear.

As the duration of stay in weightlessness increases, many unpleasant sensations disappear or smooth out. At the same time, practically in all astronauts, if proper measures are not taken, changes in the state of the cardiovascular system, metabolism, muscle and bone tissue progress. To prevent adverse shifts, a wide range of preventive measures and means is used: a vacuum tank, a bicycle ergometer, a treadmill, training load suits, an electrical muscle stimulator, training expanders, taking salt supplements, etc. This allows you to maintain good health and high level efficiency of crew members in long-term space flights.

An inevitable concomitant factor of any space flight is hypokinesia - restriction of motor activity, which, despite intense physical training during the flight, leads to general detraining and asthenia of the body under weightless conditions. Numerous studies have shown that prolonged hypokinesia, created by staying in bed with the head end tilted (-6°), has almost the same effect on the human body as prolonged weightlessness. This method of modeling some physiological effects of weightlessness in laboratory conditions was widely used in the USSR and the USA. The maximum duration of such a model experiment, conducted at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Ministry of Health of the USSR, was one year.

A specific problem is the study of the effects of cosmic radiation on the body. Dosimetric and radiobiological experiments made it possible to create and put into practice a system for ensuring radiation safety space flights, which includes means of dosimetric control and local protection, radioprotective preparations (radioprotectors).

Orbital station "MIR"

The tasks of space biology and medicine include the study biological principles and methods for creating artificial habitats on spacecraft and stations. For this, living organisms are selected that are promising for inclusion as links in a closed ecological system, the productivity and stability of populations of these organisms are studied, experimental unified systems of living and non-living components - biogeocenoses are modeled, their functional characteristics and possibilities of practical use in space flights are determined.

Such a direction of space biology and medicine as exobiology, which studies the presence, distribution, features and evolution of living matter in the Universe, is also successfully developing. On the basis of ground model experiments and studies in space, data were obtained indicating the theoretical possibility of the existence of organic matter outside the biosphere. There is also a search program extraterrestrial civilizations by registering and analyzing radio signals coming from space.

Soyuz TMA-6

Exobiology

One of the areas of space biology; searching for living matter and organic matter in space and on other planets. The main goal of exobiology is to obtain direct or indirect data on the existence of life in space. The basis for this is the findings of the precursors of complex organic molecules(hydrocyanic acid, formaldehyde, etc.), which were detected in outer space by spectroscopic methods (up to 20 organic compounds were found in total). Methods of exobiology are different and are designed not only to detect alien manifestations of life, but also to obtain some characteristics of possible extraterrestrial organisms. To suggest the existence of life in extraterrestrial conditions, for example, on other planets of the solar system, it is important to find out the ability of organisms to survive under experimental reproduction of these conditions. Many microorganisms can exist at temperatures close to absolute zero and high (up to 80-95 °C) temperatures; their spores withstand deep vacuum and long drying times. They carry much higher doses of ionizing radiation than in outer space. Extraterrestrial organisms should probably have a higher adaptability to life in an environment containing a small amount of water. Anaerobic conditions do not serve as an obstacle to the development of life, therefore, theoretically, one can assume the existence in space of the most diverse microorganisms in terms of their properties, which could adapt to unusual conditions by developing various protective devices. The experiments carried out in the USSR and the USA did not give evidence of the existence of life on Mars, there is no life on Venus and Mercury, it is also unlikely on the giant planets, as well as their satellites. In the solar system, life is probably only on Earth. According to some ideas, life outside the Earth is possible only on a water-carbon basis, which is characteristic of our planet. Another point of view does not exclude the silicon-ammonia base, however, mankind does not yet possess methods for detecting extraterrestrial life forms.

"Viking"

Viking Program

Viking Program- NASA's space program to study Mars, in particular, for the presence of life on this planet. The program included the launch of two identical spacecraft - "Viking-1" and "Viking-2", which were supposed to conduct research in orbit and on the surface of Mars. The Viking program was the culmination of a series of missions to explore Mars that began in 1964 with Mariner 4, followed by Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 in 1969, and the Mariner 9 orbital missions in 1971 and 1972 The Vikings took their place in the history of the exploration of Mars as the first American spacecraft to land safely on the surface. It was one of the most informative and successful missions to the red planet, although it failed to detect life on Mars.

Both vehicles were launched in 1975 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Before the flight, the landers were carefully sterilized to prevent contamination of Mars by terrestrial life forms. The flight time took a little less than a year and they arrived at Mars in 1976. The duration of the Viking missions was planned to be 90 days after landing, but each device worked much more than this period. The Viking-1 orbiter operated until August 7, 1980, the descent vehicle - until November 11, 1982. The Viking-2 orbiter operated until July 25, 1978, the descent vehicle - until April 11, 1980.

Snow-covered desert on Mars. Snapshot of Viking-2

BION program

BION program includes complex research on animal and plant organisms in the flights of specialized satellites (bio-satellites) in the interests of space biology, medicine and biotechnology. From 1973 to 1996, 11 biosatellites were launched into space.

Leading scientific institution: State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation - Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)
Design department: SNP RCC "TsSKB-Progress" (Samara)
Flight duration: from 5 to 22.5 days.
Launch location: Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Landing area: Kazakhstan
Participating countries: USSR, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Canada, China, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, USA, France, Czechoslovakia

Studies on rats and monkeys in biosatellite flights have shown that exposure to weightlessness leads to significant but reversible functional, structural and metabolic changes in the muscles, bones, myocardium and neurosensory system of mammals. The phenomenology is described and the mechanism of development of these changes is studied.

For the first time in the flights of biosatellites "BION" the idea of ​​creating an artificial gravity force (IGF) was put into practice. In experiments on rats, it was found that IST, created by the rotation of animals in a centrifuge, prevents the development of adverse changes in muscles, bones, and myocardium.

Within the framework of the Federal Space Program of Russia for the period 2006-2015. in the "Space tools for fundamental space research" section, the continuation of the "BION" program is planned, the launches of the "BION-M" spacecraft are scheduled for 2010, 2013 and 2016.

"BION"

Prospects for the development of research

The current stage of the exploration and study of outer space is characterized by a gradual transition from long-term orbital flights to interplanetary flights, the closest of which is seen expedition to Mars. In this case, the situation changes radically. It changes not only objectively, which is associated with a significant increase in the duration of stay in space, landing on another planet and returning to Earth, but also, which is very important, subjectively, since, having left the Earth orbit that has already become habitual, astronauts will remain (in a very small time). the size of a group of their colleagues) "lonely" in the vast expanses of the universe.

At the same time, fundamentally new problems arise associated with a sharp increase in the intensity of cosmic radiation, the need to use renewable sources of oxygen, water and food, and most importantly, the solution of psychological and medical problems.

Mercury" href="/text/category/mercury/" rel="bookmark">Mercury -Redstone 3" with Alan Shepard.

The difficulty of controlling such a system in a limited hermetically closed volume is so great that one cannot hope for its early introduction into practice. In all likelihood, the transition to a biological life support system will occur gradually as its individual links are ready. At the first stage of the development of the BSZhO, it is obvious that the physicochemical method of obtaining oxygen and utilizing carbon dioxide will be replaced by a biological one. As you know, the main "suppliers" of oxygen are higher plants and photosynthetic unicellular organisms. A more difficult task is to replenish water and food supplies.

Drinking water will obviously still be of “terrestrial origin” for a very long time, and technical water (used for household needs) is already being replenished through the regeneration of atmospheric moisture condensate (CDA), urine and other sources.

Undoubtedly, the main component of the future closed ecological system is plants. Studies on higher plants and photosynthetic unicellular organisms aboard spacecraft have shown that under space flight conditions, plants go through all stages of development, from seed germination to the formation of primary organs, flowering, fertilization and maturation of a new generation of seeds. Thus, the fundamental possibility of realizing full cycle plant development (from seed to seed) in microgravity. The results of space experiments were so encouraging that already in the early 1980s they made it possible to conclude that the development of biological life support systems and the creation on this basis of an ecologically closed system in a limited hermetic volume is not such a difficult task. However, over time, it became obvious that the problem cannot be solved completely, at least until the main parameters are determined (calculated or experimentally) that make it possible to balance the mass and energy flows of this system.

To renew food supplies, it is also necessary to introduce animals into the system. Of course, at the first stages, these should be "small-sized" representatives of the animal world - mollusks, fish, birds, and later, perhaps rabbits and other mammals.

Thus, during interplanetary flights, astronauts need not only to learn how to grow plants, keep animals and cultivate microorganisms, but also develop a reliable way to control the “space ark”. And for this, you first need to find out how a single organism grows and develops in a space flight, and then what requirements each individual element of a closed ecological system imposes on the community.

My main task in the research work was to find out how interesting and exciting space research has been and how long it still has to go!

If you only imagine what a variety of all life is on our planet, then what can be assumed then about the cosmos ...

The universe is so big and unknown that this kind of research is vital for us who live on planet Earth. But we are only at the very beginning of the journey and we have so much to know and see!

During the whole time when I was doing this work, I learned so many interesting things that I never suspected, I learned about excellent researchers like Carl Sagan, I learned about the most interesting space programs conducted in the 20th century, both in the USA and in the USSR, I learned a lot about modern programs like BION, and a lot of other things.

Research continues...

List of sources used

Big Children's Encyclopedia Universe: Popular science edition. - Russian Encyclopedic Association, 1999. Site http://spacembi. *****/ Big Encyclopedia Universe. - M.: Publishing house "Astrel", 1999.

4. Encyclopedia Universe (“ROSMEN”)

5. Wikipedia site (pictures)

6.Space at the turn of the millennium. Documents and materials. M., International relationships(2000)

Appendix.

"Mars Transfer"

"Mars transfer" Development of one of the links of the future biological and technical life support system for astronauts.

Target: Obtaining new data on the processes of gas-liquid supply in root-inhabited media during space flight

Tasks: Experimental determination of the coefficients of capillary diffusion of moisture and gases

Expected results: Creation of an installation with a rooted environment for growing plants in relation to microgravity conditions

· Set "Experimental cuvette" for determining the characteristics of moisture transfer (the speed of the impregnation front and moisture content in individual zones)

Video complex LIV for video recording of the movement of the impregnation front

Target: Use of new computer technology to increase the comfort of the astronaut's stay in the conditions of a long-term space flight.

Tasks: Activation of specific areas of the brain responsible for the astronaut's visual associations associated with his native places and family on Earth with a further increase in his performance. Analysis of the state of the astronaut in orbit by testing according to special methods.

Used scientific equipment:

Block EGE2 (individual astronaut hard disk with photo album and questionnaire)

"vest" Obtaining data to develop measures to prevent the adverse effects of flight conditions on the health and performance of the ISS crew.

Target: Evaluation of a new integrated clothing system of various types of materials for use in space flight conditions.

Tasks:

wearing clothes "VEST", specially designed for the flight of the Italian cosmonaut R. Vittori on the ISS RS; receiving feedback from the astronaut regarding the psychological and physiological well-being, that is, the comfort (convenience), wearability of clothing; her aesthetics; the effectiveness of heat resistance and physical hygiene on board the station.

Expected results: Confirmation of the functionality of the new integrated clothing system "VEST", including its ergonomic performance in space flight, which will reduce the weight and volume of clothing planned for use in long-term space flights to the ISS.

Space biology and medicine, as well as cosmonautics in general, could appear only when the scientific and economic potential of the country reached world peaks.

One of the leading experts in space biology and medicine is Academician Oleg Georgievich Gazenko. In 1956, he was included in a group of scientists who were entrusted with the medical support of future space flights. Since 1969, Oleg Georgievich has been the head of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the USSR Ministry of Health.

O. Gazenko talks about the development of space biology and space medicine, about the problems that its specialists solve.

space medicine

Sometimes people ask: how did space biology and space medicine begin? And in response, you can sometimes hear and read that it began with fears, with questions like: will a person in zero gravity be able to breathe, eat, sleep, etc.?

Of course, these questions arose. But still, the situation was different than, say, in the era of great geographical discoveries, when navigators and travelers set off on a journey without having the slightest idea of ​​what awaited them. We basically knew what awaits a person in space, and this knowledge was quite reasonable.

Space biology and space medicine did not start from scratch. They grew out of general biology, absorbed the experience of ecology, climatology and other disciplines, including technical ones. The theoretical analysis that preceded the flight of Yuri Gagarin was based on data from aviation, marine, and underwater medicine. There were also experimental data.

Back in 1934, first in our country and a little later in the USA, attempts were made to investigate the influence of the upper layers of the atmosphere on living organisms, in particular, on the mechanism of heredity in fruit flies. The first flights of animals - mice, rabbits, dogs - on geophysical rockets date back to 1949. In these experiments, the influence on the living organism was studied not only of the conditions of the upper atmosphere, but also of the rocket flight itself.

The birth of science

It is always difficult to determine the date of birth of any science: yesterday, they say, it did not exist yet, but today it has appeared. But at the same time, in the history of any branch of knowledge there is an event that marks its formation.

And just as, say, the work of Galileo can be considered the beginning of experimental physics, so the orbital flights of animals marked the birth of space biology - everyone probably remembers the dog Laika, sent into space on the second Soviet artificial Earth satellite in 1957.

Then another series of biological tests was organized on satellite ships, which made it possible to study the reaction of animals to the conditions of space flight, to observe them after the flight, and to study long-term genetic consequences.

So, by the spring of 1961, we knew that a man could make a space flight - a preliminary analysis showed that everything should be safe. And, nevertheless, since it was a question of a person, everyone wanted to have certain guarantees in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Therefore, the first flights were prepared with insurance and even, if you like, with reinsurance. And here it is simply impossible not to recall Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. One can imagine how many things and worries the Chief Designer had when he was preparing the first manned flight into space.

And yet, he delved into all the details of the medical and biological service of the flight, taking care of its maximum reliability. So, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, whose flight was supposed to last an hour and a half and who could generally do without food and water, was given food and other necessary supplies for several days. And they did the right thing.

The reason for this is that we simply lacked information then. It was known, for example, that disorders of the vestibular apparatus could occur in weightlessness, but it was not clear whether they would be the same as we imagine them to be.

Another example is cosmic radiation. They knew that it existed, but how dangerous it was, it was difficult to determine at first. In that initial period, the study of outer space itself and the development of it by man went in parallel: not all the properties of the cosmos had yet been studied, and flights had already begun.

Therefore, the radiation protection on the ships was more powerful than actual conditions required. Here I would like to emphasize that scientific work in space biology from the very beginning were put on a solid, academic basis, the approach to the development of these seemingly applied problems was very fundamental.

Development of space biology

Academician V. A. Engelgardt, being at that time Academician-Secretary of the Department of General Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, devoted much effort and attention to giving space biology and space medicine a good start.

Academician N. M. Sissakyan helped a lot to expand research and create new teams and laboratories: on his initiative, already in the early 60s, 14 laboratories of various academic institutes were working in the field of space biology and space medicine, strong scientific personnel were concentrated in them.

Academician VN Chernigovsky made a great contribution to the development of space biology and space medicine. As vice-president of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, he attracted many scientists from his academy to the development of these problems.

The direct supervisors of the first experiments in space biology were Academician V. V. Parin, who specifically studied the problems of space physiology, and Professor V. I. Yazdovsky. It is necessary to recall the first director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Professor A. V. Lebedinsky.

From the very beginning, the work was led by eminent scientists, and this ensured both a good organization of research and, as a result, the depth and accuracy of theoretical prediction, which was perfectly confirmed by the practice of space flights.

Three of them deserve special mention.

- This is a biological experiment on the second artificial satellite, which showed that a living being in a spacecraft can stay in outer space without harm to itself.

- This is the flight of Yuri Gagarin, which showed that space does not have a negative impact on the emotional and mental sphere of a person (and there were such fears), that a person, like on Earth, can think and work in space flight.

- And, finally, this is Alexei Leonov's spacewalk: a man in a special spacesuit was and worked outside the ship and - the main thing that interested scientists - was confidently oriented in space.

The landing of American astronauts on the surface of the Moon should also be included in this series. The Apollo program also confirmed some of the theories developed on Earth.

Confirmed, for example, the nature of human movements on the Moon, where the force of gravity is much less than on Earth. Practice has confirmed the theoretical conclusion that a quick flight through the radiation belts surrounding the Earth is not dangerous for humans.

By "practice" I don't just mean flying people. They were preceded by flights of our automatic stations of the "Luna" and "Zond" type and American "Surveyers", which thoroughly reconnoitered the situation both on the track and on the Moon itself.

On the "Probes", by the way, living beings circled the Moon and safely returned to Earth. So the flight of people to our night star was prepared very fundamentally.

As can be seen from the above examples, the most characteristic feature of the first period of space biology was the search for answers to fundamental questions. Today, when these answers, and rather detailed ones, have been received for the most part, the search has gone deeper, as it were.

The price of space flight

The modern stage is characterized by a more thorough and subtle study of deep, fundamental biological, biophysical, biochemical processes occurring in a living organism during space flight. And not just by studying, but also by trying to manage these processes.

How can this be explained?

The flight of a man into space on a rocket vehicle is not indifferent to the state of the body. Of course, its adaptive capabilities are unusually large and plastic, but not unlimited.

Moreover, for any adaptation, you always have to pay something. Let's say that the state of health in flight stabilizes, but the efficiency of work will decrease.

You will adapt in weightlessness to "unusual lightness", but you will lose muscle strength and bone strength ... These examples lie on the surface. But, obviously, the deep life processes are subject to this law (and there are confirmations of this). Their adaptation is not so noticeable, in short-term flights it may not manifest itself at all, but after all, flights are becoming longer and longer.

What is the price for such a device? Can I agree with it or is it undesirable? It is known, for example, that the number of erythrocytes, red blood cells that carry oxygen, decreases in the blood of astronauts during a flight. The decrease is insignificant, not dangerous, but it is in a short flight. And how will this process proceed in a long flight?

All this is necessary to know in order to build a preventive defense system and thereby expand the possibilities for a person to live and work in space. And not only for cosmonauts - specially selected and trained people, but also for scientists, engineers, workers, maybe artists.

There is a deepening of the very concept of "space medicine and biology". By design, this is an applied science that develops its own recommendations, its own methods and techniques of human behavior in space on the basis of general biology data. At first it was so. But now it has become clear that space biology and space medicine are not derived from general biology, but the whole of biology as a whole, only studying organisms in special conditions of existence.

Mutual interests of science

After all, everything that a person does on Earth, he begins to do in space: he eats, sleeps, works, rests, people will be born and die in very distant flights - in a word, a person begins to live in space in the full biological sense. And therefore we will not find now, probably, not a single section of biological and medical knowledge that would be indifferent to us.

As a result, the scale of research has increased: if literally a dozen scientists took part in the first steps of space biology and space medicine, now hundreds of institutions and thousands of specialists of the most diverse and sometimes unexpected, at first glance, profile have entered its orbit.

Here is an example: the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation, which is headed by the famous surgeon Professor V. I. Shumakov. It would seem that what could be in common between the study of a healthy organism in the special conditions of space flight and such an extreme measure of saving hopeless patients as organ transplantation? But there is something in common.

The area of ​​mutual interest relates to the problems of immunity - the natural protection of the body from the effects of bacteria, microbes and other foreign bodies. It has been established that under the conditions of space flight the immunological protection of the body weakens. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which is as follows.

In ordinary life, we always and everywhere meet with microbes. In the closed space of a spacecraft, the atmosphere is almost sterile, the microflora is much poorer. Immunity becomes practically "unemployed" and "loses shape", as an athlete loses it if he does not train for a long time.

But even during organ transplantation, so that the body does not reject them, it is already necessary to artificially reduce the level of immunity. This is where our common questions arise: how does the body behave in these conditions, how to protect it from infectious diseases? ..

There is another area of ​​mutual interest. We believe that over time people will fly and live in space for a very long time. So they can get sick. Therefore, there is a need, firstly, to imagine what these diseases can be, and secondly, to provide people in flight with diagnostic equipment and, of course, with means of treatment.

These may be medicines, but there may also be an artificial kidney - one cannot exclude the possibility that such funds will be needed on long-distance expeditions. So we are thinking together with the specialists of the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation on how to supply the participants of future space expeditions with “spare parts” and what kind of “repair technology” should be.

However, an operation in space is, of course, an extreme case. The main role will be played by the prevention of diseases. And here nutrition can play an important role as a means of controlling metabolism and its changes, if they arise, as well as a means of reducing neuro-emotional stress.

A diet composed in a certain way with the inclusion of appropriate drugs in food will do its job unnoticed by a person, the procedure will not be in the nature of taking a medicine. For a number of years, we have carried out relevant studies with the Institute of Nutrition of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences under the guidance of A. A. Pokrovsky, Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences.

Another example: the N. N. Priorov Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (CITO), headed by Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences M. V. Volkov. The area of ​​interest of the institute is the human musculoskeletal system. Moreover, not only methods of treating fractures and bruises, methods of prosthetics, but also all kinds of changes in bone tissue are being studied.

The latter is also of interest to us, because certain changes in bone tissue also occur in space. The methods of influencing these processes, used both in space and in the clinic, are basically very close to each other.

Hypokinesia, which is common in our time - low mobility - is even more pronounced in space. The condition of a person who gets out of bed after a two-month illness is comparable to the condition of an astronaut who has returned from a flight: both must learn to walk on the ground again.

The fact is that in weightlessness, part of the blood moves from the lower part of the body to the upper, rushes to the head. In addition, the muscles, not receiving the usual load, weaken. The same thing happens when you lie in bed for a long time. When a person returns to Earth (or gets up after a long illness), the reverse process occurs - the blood quickly flows from top to bottom, which is accompanied by dizziness and can even cause fainting.

To avoid such phenomena, astronauts in flight load their muscles on a special simulator, use the so-called vacuum system, which helps to move part of the blood to the lower half of the body. Returning from the flight, they wear for some time post-flight prophylactic suits, which, on the contrary, prevent the rapid outflow of blood from the upper half of the body.

Now similar funds are used in medical institutions. In CITO, space-type simulators allow patients to "walk" without getting out of bed. And the post-flight suits were successfully tested at the A.V. Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery - with their help, patients literally get back on their feet faster.

The redistribution of blood in the body is not just a mechanical process, it also affects physiological functions and therefore is of considerable interest both for space biology and medicine, and for clinical cardiology. Moreover, the issues of regulation of blood circulation during a change in the spatial position of the body have not yet been sufficiently studied in healthy people.

And in joint research with the A. L. Myasnikov Institute of Cardiology and the Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation, we obtained the first interesting data on, for example, how pressure changes in various vessels and cavities of the heart when the position of the body in space changes. About how and at what pace the biochemical composition of the blood flowing from the brain, or from the liver, or from the muscles changes during physical activity, that is, separately from each organ.

This makes it possible to more deeply judge his work and condition. The studies in question enrich our knowledge of human physiology and biochemistry in an extraordinary way; this is an example of a fundamental study of the biological essence of man. And the example is not the only one.

I have already mentioned that in space the number of red blood cells in a person decreases and that it is important to understand the causes of this phenomenon. Special studies, in particular on the Cosmos-782 satellite, have shown that the stability (resistance) of these cells decreases in space, and therefore they are destroyed more often than under normal terrestrial conditions, their average life expectancy is reduced.

Now, of course, we will have to find out how the stability of erythrocytes could be maintained. This is important for space, but it can also be useful in the fight against anemia and other blood diseases.

The fact that space biology is involved in the fundamental research of the human body characterizes in a quite definite way modern stage its development, fundamental research lays the foundations for the further development of practical activities. In our case, the foundations for further advancement of man into space are being laid.

Who will fly into space

Even now, the needs of space exploration are forcing scientists to think about expanding the composition of specialists flying into space.

In the coming years, we can expect the appearance in orbit of scientists - space explorers, engineers - organizers of extraterrestrial production of various materials that cannot be obtained on Earth, workers for assembling space objects and servicing production, etc.

For these specialists, apparently, it will be necessary to expand the now rather narrow “gate” of medical selection, that is, to reduce the formal requirements for the state of health, to reduce the amount of preparatory training.

At the same time, of course, complete safety and, I would say, the safety of the flight for these people must be guaranteed.

In an orbital flight, this is relatively easy to do: not only can you establish constant control over the state of the crew, but, in extreme cases, there is always the possibility of returning a person to Earth in a few hours. Another thing is interplanetary flights, they will be much more autonomous.

An expedition, say, to Mars will take 2.5-3 years. This means that the approach to the organization of such expeditions should be different from that for flights in orbit. Here, obviously, it is impossible to reduce the requirements for health in the selection of candidates.

Moreover, candidates, it seems to me, should have not only excellent health, but also some specific properties - for example, the ability to easily adapt to changing conditions. environment or a certain nature of the reaction to extreme impacts.

The ability of the body to adapt to changes in biological rhythms is very important. The fact is that the rhythms characteristic of us are of a purely earthly origin. For example, the most important of them - daily - is directly related to the change of day and night. But the Earth day exists only on Earth, on other planets the day, of course, is different, and you will have to adapt to them.

What to do during the flight

Questions related to the moral climate that will be established on board are becoming very important. And the point here is not only in the personal qualities of people, but also in the organization of their work, everyday life - life in general, taking into account the needs, including aesthetic ones, of each crew member. This range of questions is perhaps the most difficult.

For example, the problem of free time. It is believed that during the flight to the same Mars, the workload for each crew member will be no more than 4 hours a day. We will take 8 hours to sleep, 12 will remain. What to do with them? In the limited space of the spacecraft, with the same crew composition, this is not so easy to do. Books? Music? Films? Yes, but not any. Music, even favorite music, can cause excessive emotional arousal, enhance the feeling of separation from home.

Books and films of a dramatic or tragic nature can also cause negative reactions, but the genre of adventure, science fiction, books by travelers, polar explorers, speleologists, in which there is material for comparison, empathy, will undoubtedly be well received. It is possible to solve crossword puzzles, puzzles, but it is hardly recommended to play chess or checkers, because in such games there is an element of rivalry that is undesirable in such a situation.

All of these considerations arose as a result of ongoing research. They, in my opinion, greatly stimulate a close study of human psychology, and I think that in time, when the above problems are sufficiently developed, they will also be of great benefit to earthly practice - in the organization of work and recreation for people.

Life support for expeditions

A special place in the development of interplanetary flights is occupied by the life support of expeditions. Now astronauts simply take everything they need in flight from the Earth (the atmosphere is only partially regenerated; in some flights, experimental water regeneration was carried out).

But you can’t take supplies with you for three years. On the interplanetary ship, it is necessary to create a closed ecological system, similar to the earth, but in miniature, which will supply the crew with food, water, fresh air and dispose of waste products.

The task is incredibly difficult! In essence, we are talking about competition with nature: what it has been creating for many millions of years on the entire planet, people are trying to reproduce in the laboratory in order to then transfer it to a spaceship.

Such work has been carried out for many years at our institute, at the Krasnoyarsk L. V. Kirensky Institute of Physics. Something has already been done, but still one cannot speak of great successes here. Many experts generally believe that real practical success may be achieved only in 15-20 years. Perhaps, of course, earlier, but not by much.

Genetics

Finally, the problems of genetics, reproduction of offspring. Our institute, together with Moscow State University and the Institute of Developmental Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is conducting research aimed at determining the effect of weightlessness on embryogenesis and morphogenesis.

Experiments, in particular on the Kosmos-782 satellite, showed that weightlessness does not prevent insects (drosophila) from giving normal offspring, while in more complex organisms - fish, frogs - in a number of cases violations, deviations from the norm were found. This suggests that for normal development at the very first stages of the life of the embryo, they need the force of gravity, and, therefore, this force should be created artificially.

Problems of long-term space flights

Thus, the problems of long-term space flights are the most essential in our work today. And here the question is legitimate: how long can a person stay in space? It's impossible to answer right now. During the flight, a number of processes take place in the body, which cannot yet be controlled. They have not been studied to the end, after all, a person has not yet flown for more than three months, and we do not know how these processes will proceed with longer flight times.

An objective, experimental verification is needed, and the question of the possibility of, say, a three-year stay of a man in space must be resolved in near-Earth orbit. Only then will we have a guarantee that such an expedition will be successful.

But I think that a person will not encounter insurmountable obstacles on this path. Such a conclusion can be drawn on the basis of today's knowledge. After all, the space age of mankind has just begun, and, figuratively speaking, we are now only going on that long journey that humanity faces in space.

The branch of medicine, which is designed to ensure the health of astronauts, can improve the well-being of people on Earth.

Space medicine as a separate discipline originates in the 50s of the last century. When people first began to conquer space - an environment not intended for human life, it was designed to cope with the direct impact of microgravity on human physiology. Gradually, space medicine also faced the long-term consequences of the influence of almost complete weightlessness, radiation and long-term isolation of the expedition members from the rest of the world.

The first cosmonauts, of course, were military test pilots, but it was obvious that doctors should also be sent into space so that they could study the reaction of the body to space flight factors on the spot. Boris Egorov became the first cosmonaut doctor - in October 1964 he spent more than a day on board the Voskhod-1 spacecraft and collected significant material on the effect of g-forces and microgravity on the vestibular apparatus.

NASA involved doctors in the development of space programs and equipment (including life support systems, spacesuits, airlocks, etc.) in 1967. The first of these was Story Musgrave, who himself later took part in six flights under the Space Shuttle program.

Although space medicine has come a long way since then, it still relies heavily on the ability to bring an astronaut back to Earth if he needs serious medical attention. However, in the light of the planned long-term missions into space (in particular, a flight to Mars), new methods of diagnosis and treatment are being developed under weightless conditions.

Diagnostics, operations and recovery in space

When a particular medical situation occurs on board a spacecraft or station, special equipment may be required to make a diagnosis. X-ray and CT do not exist because they use radiation that is unacceptable in the conditions of the space environment. Ultrasound becomes the best option, since it allows you to take pictures of various organs and tissues and does not require heavy overall equipment. Small, laptop-sized ultrasound machines are already being used by NASA to check the health of the eyes and optic nerve of astronauts who spend extended periods in orbit.

The MRI scanner provides more diagnostic opportunities than ultrasound, but it is very heavy and expensive. Recently, however, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) have developed a compact MRI machine that weighs less than a ton (the average scanner weighs 11 tons), costs about $200,000, and does not affect the electronic equipment on board.

To perform abdominal laparoscopic teleoperations in space, the American company Virtual Incision, together with NASA, has developed a surgical robot the size of a human fist. It will be managed by a doctor on Earth. To prevent biological fluids from spreading throughout the module in microgravity during surgery, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Louisville created a special surgical system, AISS (Aqueous Immersion Surgical System). It is a transparent box that is applied to the wound and filled with sterile saline - it does not allow blood to flow out. The system allows surgeons to work with the wound, and also, when the pressure in it changes, to draw blood so that later, if necessary, it can be returned to the circulatory system.

Space affects viruses and bacteria in the same way as humans. Studies have shown that microgravity conditions increase the virulence of such organisms; they begin to multiply more actively, mutate faster, and better resist antibiotics. As an alternative to the latter, cold plasma can be used to kill viruses and bacteria. In laboratory conditions, it has been found to kill most microorganisms and increase the rate of wound healing.

Common Health Issues in Space

Doctors and astronauts have to face a wide variety of problems. Among them are “space sickness” (dizziness and loss of balance when leaving and returning to Earth’s gravity), “space osteopenia” (loss of bone mass while staying in microgravity, an average of 1% per month), loss of muscle mass, since the muscles do not need to overcome gravity, visual impairment due to increased intracranial pressure, and many others.

Of the currently recorded diseases and conditions from which the participants of various space expeditions suffered, there are infections of the upper respiratory tract, viral gastroenteritis, dermatitis, insomnia, “seasickness”, arrhythmia, renal colic, however, it is obvious that during long missions to distant distance people will have to face other medical problems.

Each of them, in particular a serious illness or injury, can potentially negatively affect the course of the expedition, lead to its failure and the loss of crew members. The return to Earth will be either impossible or very difficult, depending on the path already covered, so the provision of medical care (including emergency and psychological) should be completely or as much as possible autonomous.

Earth and space medicine

Developments made for space expeditions may be useful for the Earth. Some of them have already become a reality. For example, digital imaging technologies that NASA developed to take better pictures of the Moon have found their way into MRI and CT machines. The memory foam used in today's orthopedic mattresses and pillows was also originally created for the comfort and safety of pilots.

And this is only a small part of such “offshoots” of space research. Space medicine, developing, can not only lead a person to the stars, but also improve his life at home - on Earth.