Spaceflight takes a physical toll on astronauts, causing muscles to atrophy, bones to thin and bodily fluids to shift. According to a new study published in the journal PNAS, we can now add another major change to that list. Being in microgravity causes the brain to change shape.
Here on Earth, gravity helps to keep the brain anchored in place while the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds it acts as a cushion. Scientists already knew that, without gravity's steady pull, the brain moves upward, but this new research showed that it is also stretched and compressed in several areas.
Long duration space travel in a zero or low G environment has myriad negative physiological effects on humans. The only way around that is to either simulate gravity via some kind of onboard spacecraft rotation, or by accelerating at or close to 1 G. Both are problematic given the current state of technology. And that's not including the effects of long exposure to cosmic rays. Musk's Starship technology doesn't even come close to mitigating any of these issues. Get real, dude.
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