Experiments show 'artificial gravity' can prevent muscle loss in space
Thursday, July 23, 2009 - 11:00
in Astronomy & Space
When the Apollo 11 crew got back from the moon, 40 years ago this week, they showed no ill effects from seven days spent in weightlessness. But as American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts began conducting longer-duration space flights, scientists noticed a disturbing trend: the longer humans stay in zero gravity, the more muscle they lose. Space travellers exposed to weightlessness for a year or more - such as those on a mission to Mars, for example - could wind up crippled on their return to Earth, unable to walk or even sit up...