Long-term space travel is bad for your health. Very bad. Being in space exposes humans to dangerously high levels of radiation; extended exposure to microgravity can damage a range of organ systems, including muscles, bones and eyes. Living for months or years in tight quarters can have severe psychological effects.
The key to solving these problems could be a 250m-year-old physiological strategy that allows mammals, birds, fish and other animals to survive extreme scarcity by essentially going offline: hibernation. When they hibernate, animals almost completely switch off their bodily functions; they don’t eat, drink or move, and just as importantly, aren’t hungry, or thirsty and don’t seem to suffer from the cold. This remarkable ability could prove crucial in helping humans get to Mars and beyond – and could also help save lives on Earth.
It turns out that hibernation can protect against many of the hazards of extended spaceflight, including radiation exposure and bone and muscle loss. Moreover, putting travelers in a long-term unconscious state could help reduce the toll of living in a confined space for months or years. Hibernation could also significantly decrease the amount of food and water needed for the trip, reducing payload and enabling astronauts to reach their destination – and return – in less time.
