Why Am I Taller?: What Happens to an Astronaut’s Body in Space

Astronaut Williams and Space.com writer Howell (Leadership Moments from NASA) consider the effects of space travel on human health in this insightful survey. Citing NASA’s plan to send astronauts to Mars by the end of the century, the authors discuss what’s being done to ensure astronauts survive the yearslong, multimillion-mile journey: there are “psychological safeguards” in case of onboard or at-home emergencies, studies underway on hibernation pods, and quarantine protocols to prevent interstellar disease transmission and the spread of spaceborne microbes. Astronauts will spend two and a half hours a day exercising to counter the loss of bone density and muscle tone that occurs in space, and will have to rely on new food sources for nutrition (possibly bugs, the authors suggest). Enormous challenges remain, the authors write, such as gathering information on “spaceflying seniors,” for whom there’s very little data. The authors’ down-to-earth explanations and vivid descriptions are a treat, and especially enlightening are Williams’s first-person accounts of being in space: “The changes started the moment after arriving... beginning with a mild headache and a puffy face that seemed to increase over the first few hours of the mission.” This candid survey will delight armchair astronauts. (Nov.)