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Muscle loss isn't too bad. The real killer is bone loss. You lose 1% of your bone mass per month in space. NASA still hasn't figured out how to fix it. Valeri P
by sbierwagen 5y ago
Muscle loss isn't too bad. The real killer is bone loss. You lose 1% of your bone mass per month in space. NASA still hasn't figured out how to fix it. Valeri Polyakov spent 437 days on Mir in 1995. Nobody has come close to that record since then, and nobody will until the problem is fixed.
- mlyle 5y agoAnd no one knows how much gravity you need to fix this. That's one reason a moon base would be beneficial. Does 16% gravity let you do exercises that let you keep most bone density? Is it pretty much the same as microgravity? Or is it somewhere between-- just slightly less bad than orbit. I have some hope that 16% + an aggressive exercise program could be OK.
- mabbo 5y agoAs someone currently learning how to lift weights, I would love to be the guinea pig of a lunar exercise program. At 16% gravity I should be able to deadlift over 1500 lbs and bench 1000 lbs!
- mlyle 5y agoI bet having 6 times as much inertia for the weight makes things strange. In all seriousness, it's going to be mostly resistance exercises. But we can probably do better resistance exercises with gravity to help posture and alignment.
- dustintrex 5y agoThe Moon at least has 0.16g, which is a lot better than 0g.