A study of bone loss in 17 astronauts who flew International Space Station There is increasing understanding of the effects of space travel on the human body and the measures to reduce them.
Research has accumulated new data on bone loss in astronauts due to the microgravity conditions of space and the extent to which bone mineral density can be recovered in space. Earth,
The study involved 14 male and three female astronauts, with an average age of 47 years, whose missions in space lasted four to seven months, an average of about five and a half months.
a year after returning EarthThe astronauts demonstrated, on average, a 2.1% reduction in bone mineral density in the tibia – one of the leg bones – and a 1.3% reduction in bone strength. Nine did not recover bone mineral density after spaceflight, showing permanent loss.
“We know that astronauts experience bone loss on long-duration space flights. The novelty of this study is that we took a year after astronauts to understand if and how bone heals,” he said. Professor Leigh Gabel of the University of Calgary said. , the lead author of the research, who was published This week in Scientific Reports.
“Astronauts experienced significant bone loss during their six months of space flights – the damage we would expect to see in adults older than two decades in space. Earthand they only recovered about half of that loss a year after returning EarthGabel said.
Bone loss occurs because the bones that normally support weight Earth Carrying no weight in space. Gabel said space agencies will need to improve compensatory measures — exercise and nutritional regimens — to help prevent bone loss.
“During space flight, the bone structure becomes thinner … once the astronaut is back EarthThe remaining bone connections may become thicker and stronger, but those that are disconnected in space cannot be rebuilt, so the astronaut’s overall bone structure is permanently altered,” Gabel said.
The astronauts involved in the study have flown on the space station for the past seven years. His nationality is not disclosed in the study, but he was from the US space agency NASAfrom the Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
