I was hearing on the news recently that the concept of a manned mission to mars was complicated by reports that astronauts currently in the ISS for long periods of time have been reporting blurred vision. I was immediately curious what could be causing this- something to do with spending extended periods in microgravity? Or mabye just the lack of stimuli? (but then, I guess prisoners would suffer the same effect).
What is causing Space Blindness? Yes I made that up. No its not blindness. But its the kind of phrase the media would jump all over
The story I read said it seemed to have something to do with spinal fluid not being where it was supposed to be.
The more I read about the effects of microgravity, the more convinced I am that any long-term mission is going to have to have a centrifuge to provide simulated gravity, ala 2001.
Which isn’t exactly a difficult problem, anyway. The only reason the ISS wasn’t designed to spin is that they want to study microgravity. And the primary reason they study microgravity is to learn the effects of spacecraft without centrifuges on the human body. You perhaps see the problem here?
I read some stuff about the effects of micro gravity on people and other complex organisms a couple years ago.
apparently, without gravity the body starts to act funny. Its just the lack(or strength needed) of a constant downward pulling force on the body to create a load or weight(gravity).
Without it the body starts to deteriorate, muscle tissue, bone tissue, even some things you wouldn’t expects like the vital organs. Considering the heart is always generating its own pressure for blood to move through the veins.
As for the eyes, it is strange. As long as there is stimuli for the mind, I would think it would keep functioning like normal.
maybe it has to do with deterioration of the brain or the inner ear, overloading or throwing it out of whack so the body can’t find balance.
let me know it you find any solid reasons, bet its something simple.
Do earthbound bed-ridden individuals also suffer from blurred vision? Being flat on one’s back for weeks at a time, I would think, might also result in an odd distribution of spinal fluid (as compared to someone who gets up and walks daily).
To be more precise, NASA believes the problem is caused by increased spinal-fluid pressure on the head and eyes due to microgravity. It has affected about 60% of astronauts returning from the ISS, and 30% of shuttle astronauts (whose trips are considerably shorter). The reports suggest that the effects linger for a long time after the astronauts return, and in at least one case the damage has been permanent.
