HOUSTON,--- We have a problem

Niri Te · March 13, 2012, 04:35:07 PM

I just read this, and there might be a serious problem with flights to Pandora. Read, and tell me what you think.
Niri Te

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17354304

Tsanten Eywa 'eveng · March 13, 2012, 04:38:03 PM

But in the movie they were sleeping in cryo

How can you damage your eye sight on that?

Niri Te · March 13, 2012, 04:45:15 PM

Quote from: Tsanten Eywa 'eveng on March 13, 2012, 04:38:03 PM
But in the movie they were sleeping in cryo

How can you damage your eye sight on that?

It is because you are weightless, NOT because of light. You are weightless whether you are awake or in cryo, the forces on your body are the same.
Niri Te

Tsyal Maktoyu · March 13, 2012, 05:07:40 PM

But if you're in cryo aren't all the fluids in your body solid?

And for those awake, I wonder what a solution could be. Special medication or exercises?

Seze Mune · March 13, 2012, 06:53:39 PM

Quote from: Tsanten Eywa 'eveng on March 13, 2012, 04:38:03 PM
But in the movie they were sleeping in cryo

How can you damage your eye sight on that?

If it didn't have a bad effect on cellular structure (read frostbite), we wouldn't worry about it, but cryogenics hasn't evolved to the point where we can avoid damage to cellular structure from freezing and thawing.

A few years ago they were working on something called 'glassy water' as a possible cryoprotectant but no luck so far, I guess. And if cryogenics means freezing things and freezing them makes them expand and burst, then....well, you know. Not good for vision.

But the info on weightlessness causing expansion of the physical body components with possible bad side effects seems intuitive in retrospect, doesn't it? You mean they never saw this coming?

Niri Te · March 13, 2012, 07:13:48 PM

Ma Seze,
The Russians were the first to launch a satellite, the first to sub orbital launch a Human, The first to have a Human orbit the Earth, and the first to space walk. If we were going to beat them to the moon, (not only did we beat them, we are the only ones to walk it's surface), certain shortcuts HAD to be taken. We kept the equipment as safe and reliable as we could make it, but we were in uncharted territory when it came to Space Medicine.
Niri Te

Tsyal Maktoyu · March 13, 2012, 07:17:02 PM

IIRC it has been hypothesized that occasionally bombarding an object with microwaves while it is being cooled down prevents the growth of ice crystals. In fact, I think that's something that was done on the ISV in Avatar.

Seze Mune · March 13, 2012, 08:35:32 PM

Quote from: Niri Te on March 13, 2012, 07:13:48 PM
Ma Seze,
The Russians were the first to launch a satellite, the first to sub orbital launch a Human, The first to have a Human orbit the Earth, and the first to space walk. If we were going to beat them to the moon, (not only did we beat them, we are the only ones to walk it's surface), certain shortcuts HAD to be taken. We kept the equipment as safe and reliable as we could make it, but we were in uncharted territory when it came to Space Medicine.
Niri Te

And I think we're only just learning. I'm not sure what the Russians or others have now learned and either made public or kept secret, but I haven't seen any of this coming from them. Then again, I'm not sure I'd fault them for that - I'm not sure our English-speaking media would broadcast it anyway, even if they did.

Vur’evenge · March 13, 2012, 09:28:02 PM

I am certainly no scientist - a happy generalist and a musician by training and career,...HOWever... a solution to zero gravity health issues has been bandied about for quite some time. Not feasible yet, but perhaps something that could happen prior to safe cryo-sleep. Some links.

Spinning bed-thing for each traveler

The Rocket Motor

Rotating Wheel Station w/ cool concept gallery

ABC Science - More 'spin'

Of course it would be so much simpler if we could just jaunte there, eh?

"Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
The stars my destination"
(By Alfred Bester -Read aloud by our father - incessantly - beginning in about 1962)

Ah, nawma sa'nok, I love this stuff!

Edited for typonese

Human No More · March 17, 2012, 05:59:19 PM

Quote from: Tsyal Maktoyu on March 13, 2012, 05:07:40 PM
But if you're in cryo aren't all the fluids in your body solid?

And for those awake, I wonder what a solution could be. Special medication or exercises?

Depends on the type, whether it's simply freezing, or a process such as vitrification (which is being used by cryopreservation companies today) - but the lack of any kind of immersion or heavy treatment suggests the ISV's cryo tech is more advanced again. It's also possible that the body being in a near-'powered down' state slows any such development of problems. As it is today, based on the areas, exercise won't work as it does for muscles, but there may be other ways.