Space Biology and the Future of the Human Race
By Connie Cai
Space biology –– even the name of the field sounds like an oxymoron. Little research has been done in space biology, simply because of how difficult (and expensive) it is to transport specimens up to space. Moreover, whatever research that does come from such experiments is not easily replicable and is therefore often inconclusive.
Yet space biology is a field that deserves to be given more attention, especially if we consider the future of our planet and the human race. Tech mega-moguls like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk champion space travel as our future; they envision a time when, once this planet becomes uninhabitable, we can take off in search of a new home. Yet, before this science-fiction becomes a reality, less fiction and more science needs to happen. And the first question space biologists or anyone interested in space travel must ask is: Can humans even colonize space? Our eyes, our cerebrospinal fluids—all of these things that were evolved specifically for the conditions of planet Earth––are any of these the limiting factors for human space travel?
In 1991, NASA started the Spacelab Life Science Mission to investigate the effects of microgravity on animal development. The mission’s ultimate goal was to examine the possibility of human development in space and determine if humans could one day give birth in space. They blasted over 2,000 jellyfish polyps into space and induced them to strobilate—to progress through their life cycle from polyp to mature jellyfish. Jellyfish, specifically Aurelia aurita, were chosen for the job because of their rapid metamorphosis (less than five days) and the ability of scientists to easily induce metamorphosis in jellyfish by dosing their environment with either iodine or thyroxine.1 Being able to conduct an experiment in space is a privilege; the fact that jellyfish were selected to be grown in space over other animals and experiments demonstrates that NASA believed that this particular study would be illuminating for the future of space travel.
The scientists brought these space jellies back to Earth and compared them to their counterparts. The researchers found that there were slightly more jellyfish in the space sample that were unable to swim properly. Scientists hypothesized that microgravity was affecting the development of the jellyfish’s statoliths, specialized cells that perceive gravity and help orient the jellyfish. Because humans have similar cells, the scientists believed that the jellyfish would serve as a model for humans. According to this finding, If in the future long-time space travel becomes a reality, humans born and raised in space may struggle returning to Earth or other planets. As strange as it sounds, jellyfish in space have shown us that perhaps long-term space travel is not as glamorous and as simple as we would like to believe.
But what if we could study space’s effect on the human body in an environment other than space itself? Other ways that research on space biology, particularly human physiology in space, is conducted is through Head Down Bed Rest (HDBR) simulations. In these simulations, subjects are required to complete all their daily activities in a bed that places their head at a six degree tilt from their feet for several months. These studies mimic a zero-gravity environment without having to send people to space. These studies have illuminated many effects of microgravity on humans: loss of accurate spatial orientation, loss of head-eye and hand-eye coordination, muscular atrophy, swelling of the head, loss of bone density, deterioration bone architecture, among other effects.2 Currently, NASA has a fairly decent understanding of the effects of space on humans for short periods of time (around five to six months, or the length of most space missions and HDRB simulations). Longer than that, however, the amount of research is limited. Here, then, is the frontier of space biology: We do not fully understand how the human body reacts to progressively longer amounts of time in space. Finding the answers to this question is the key to space travel.
NASA is pursuing another research avenue to further their understanding by studying two astronaut twins: Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly. Scott was sent up to space for 340 days while his brother Mark remained on Earth as a control. While full research results have not been released, interesting findings are already emerging. Effects in gene expression and the gut microbiome have been observed, alongside expected physiological effects such as changes in bone density.
However, perhaps most surprising are the study’s findings on telomeres. Telomeres are DNA caps that protect the ends of our chromosomes, and longer telomeres are generally associated with cell longevity. Scott’s telomeres were observed to grow in space––and once Scott returned to Earth, the length of his telomeres returned to pre-flight levels.3 This interesting and unintuitive finding has prompted NASA to plan a 2018 study of telomere length in ten astronauts. It is important to note that while these studies are intriguing, they do not offer concrete conclusions due to their small sample size. They do, however, offer interesting suggestions for what the human consequences of space travel will be.
NASA, however, is not the only one invested in human space travel. Both Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk run private space exploration companies that explore the possibility of long-term human space colonization. Bezos is the founder of Blue Origin, a private space company that champions space tourism and space travel. Elon Musk’s company is called SpaceX, and their vision statement writes that their ultimate goal “of enabling people to live on other planets.”4 Together these companies are the frontrunners in the burgeoning private space exploration industry, and with the help of their money/fame, their vision for the future is rapidly gaining popularity.
Yet it does require a remarkable degree of optimism to believe that we can simply escape this world once we make it uninhabitable and find another to colonize. In addition, the reality of space travel is not as chic––nor as feasible, yet––as NASA, Bezos, or Musk would have us believe. In the words of Scott Kelly on his first days back on Earth after a year in space,
“I'm seriously nauseated now, feverish, and my pain has gotten worse. This isn't like how I felt after my last mission. This is much, much worse… I wonder whether my friend Misha, by now back in Moscow, is also suffering from swollen legs and painful rashes. I suspect so. This is why we volunteered for this mission, after all: to discover more about how the human body is affected by long-term space flight. Our space agencies won't be able to push out farther into space, to a destination like Mars, until we can learn more about how to strengthen the weakest links in the chain that make space flight possible: the human body and mind.”5
The idea of space travel and living on another planet is impossibly alluring. The reality of space travel and the bodily wear of it isn’t quite as alluring. Yet, many are working to make us believe that space is our final frontier. Our ‘one small step’? Studying jellyfish and gut biomes, all in search of a new world.
Works Cited
1. Dorothy B. Spangenberg et al., “Development Studies of Aurelia (Jellyfish) Ephyrae Which Developed During the SLS-1 Mission,” Advances in Space Research 14 (1994): 239- 247.
2. Timothy Gushanas, “Human Research Program,” NASA [online] https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace, (accessed March 5, 2018).
3. Witze, Alexandra, “Astronaut Twin Study Hints at Stress of Space Travel,” Nature [online], January 26, 2017. https://www.nature.com/news/astronaut-twin-study-hints-at-stress-of-space-travel-1.213 (accessed March 5, 2018).
4. Musk, Elon, “SpaceX,” SpaceX [online], http://www.spacex.com/about (accessed March 5, 2018).
5. Kelly, Scott, “Astronaut Scott Kelly on the devastating effects of a year in space,” The Sydney Morning Herald [online], October 6, 2017. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/astronaut-scott-kelly-on-the-devastating-effects-of-a-year-in-space-20170922-gyn9iw.html (accessed March 5, 2018).
Space biology –– even the name of the field sounds like an oxymoron. Little research has been done in space biology, simply because of how difficult (and expensive) it is to transport specimens up to space. Moreover, whatever research that does come from such experiments is not easily replicable and is therefore often inconclusive.
Yet space biology is a field that deserves to be given more attention, especially if we consider the future of our planet and the human race. Tech mega-moguls like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk champion space travel as our future; they envision a time when, once this planet becomes uninhabitable, we can take off in search of a new home. Yet, before this science-fiction becomes a reality, less fiction and more science needs to happen. And the first question space biologists or anyone interested in space travel must ask is: Can humans even colonize space? Our eyes, our cerebrospinal fluids—all of these things that were evolved specifically for the conditions of planet Earth––are any of these the limiting factors for human space travel?
In 1991, NASA started the Spacelab Life Science Mission to investigate the effects of microgravity on animal development. The mission’s ultimate goal was to examine the possibility of human development in space and determine if humans could one day give birth in space. They blasted over 2,000 jellyfish polyps into space and induced them to strobilate—to progress through their life cycle from polyp to mature jellyfish. Jellyfish, specifically Aurelia aurita, were chosen for the job because of their rapid metamorphosis (less than five days) and the ability of scientists to easily induce metamorphosis in jellyfish by dosing their environment with either iodine or thyroxine.1 Being able to conduct an experiment in space is a privilege; the fact that jellyfish were selected to be grown in space over other animals and experiments demonstrates that NASA believed that this particular study would be illuminating for the future of space travel.
The scientists brought these space jellies back to Earth and compared them to their counterparts. The researchers found that there were slightly more jellyfish in the space sample that were unable to swim properly. Scientists hypothesized that microgravity was affecting the development of the jellyfish’s statoliths, specialized cells that perceive gravity and help orient the jellyfish. Because humans have similar cells, the scientists believed that the jellyfish would serve as a model for humans. According to this finding, If in the future long-time space travel becomes a reality, humans born and raised in space may struggle returning to Earth or other planets. As strange as it sounds, jellyfish in space have shown us that perhaps long-term space travel is not as glamorous and as simple as we would like to believe.
But what if we could study space’s effect on the human body in an environment other than space itself? Other ways that research on space biology, particularly human physiology in space, is conducted is through Head Down Bed Rest (HDBR) simulations. In these simulations, subjects are required to complete all their daily activities in a bed that places their head at a six degree tilt from their feet for several months. These studies mimic a zero-gravity environment without having to send people to space. These studies have illuminated many effects of microgravity on humans: loss of accurate spatial orientation, loss of head-eye and hand-eye coordination, muscular atrophy, swelling of the head, loss of bone density, deterioration bone architecture, among other effects.2 Currently, NASA has a fairly decent understanding of the effects of space on humans for short periods of time (around five to six months, or the length of most space missions and HDRB simulations). Longer than that, however, the amount of research is limited. Here, then, is the frontier of space biology: We do not fully understand how the human body reacts to progressively longer amounts of time in space. Finding the answers to this question is the key to space travel.
NASA is pursuing another research avenue to further their understanding by studying two astronaut twins: Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly. Scott was sent up to space for 340 days while his brother Mark remained on Earth as a control. While full research results have not been released, interesting findings are already emerging. Effects in gene expression and the gut microbiome have been observed, alongside expected physiological effects such as changes in bone density.
However, perhaps most surprising are the study’s findings on telomeres. Telomeres are DNA caps that protect the ends of our chromosomes, and longer telomeres are generally associated with cell longevity. Scott’s telomeres were observed to grow in space––and once Scott returned to Earth, the length of his telomeres returned to pre-flight levels.3 This interesting and unintuitive finding has prompted NASA to plan a 2018 study of telomere length in ten astronauts. It is important to note that while these studies are intriguing, they do not offer concrete conclusions due to their small sample size. They do, however, offer interesting suggestions for what the human consequences of space travel will be.
NASA, however, is not the only one invested in human space travel. Both Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk run private space exploration companies that explore the possibility of long-term human space colonization. Bezos is the founder of Blue Origin, a private space company that champions space tourism and space travel. Elon Musk’s company is called SpaceX, and their vision statement writes that their ultimate goal “of enabling people to live on other planets.”4 Together these companies are the frontrunners in the burgeoning private space exploration industry, and with the help of their money/fame, their vision for the future is rapidly gaining popularity.
Yet it does require a remarkable degree of optimism to believe that we can simply escape this world once we make it uninhabitable and find another to colonize. In addition, the reality of space travel is not as chic––nor as feasible, yet––as NASA, Bezos, or Musk would have us believe. In the words of Scott Kelly on his first days back on Earth after a year in space,
“I'm seriously nauseated now, feverish, and my pain has gotten worse. This isn't like how I felt after my last mission. This is much, much worse… I wonder whether my friend Misha, by now back in Moscow, is also suffering from swollen legs and painful rashes. I suspect so. This is why we volunteered for this mission, after all: to discover more about how the human body is affected by long-term space flight. Our space agencies won't be able to push out farther into space, to a destination like Mars, until we can learn more about how to strengthen the weakest links in the chain that make space flight possible: the human body and mind.”5
The idea of space travel and living on another planet is impossibly alluring. The reality of space travel and the bodily wear of it isn’t quite as alluring. Yet, many are working to make us believe that space is our final frontier. Our ‘one small step’? Studying jellyfish and gut biomes, all in search of a new world.
Works Cited
1. Dorothy B. Spangenberg et al., “Development Studies of Aurelia (Jellyfish) Ephyrae Which Developed During the SLS-1 Mission,” Advances in Space Research 14 (1994): 239- 247.
2. Timothy Gushanas, “Human Research Program,” NASA [online] https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace, (accessed March 5, 2018).
3. Witze, Alexandra, “Astronaut Twin Study Hints at Stress of Space Travel,” Nature [online], January 26, 2017. https://www.nature.com/news/astronaut-twin-study-hints-at-stress-of-space-travel-1.213 (accessed March 5, 2018).
4. Musk, Elon, “SpaceX,” SpaceX [online], http://www.spacex.com/about (accessed March 5, 2018).
5. Kelly, Scott, “Astronaut Scott Kelly on the devastating effects of a year in space,” The Sydney Morning Herald [online], October 6, 2017. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/astronaut-scott-kelly-on-the-devastating-effects-of-a-year-in-space-20170922-gyn9iw.html (accessed March 5, 2018).
