Going into space is having adverse effects on the human body. In this, the microgravity conditions and other factors are harming our body from head to toe. The biggest concern has come to the fore. A new study funded by NASA elaborates on this.
Astronauts traveling aboard the International Space Station (ISS) or on a NASA spacecraft experienced a significant expansion of the cerebral ventricles, the space containing cerebrospinal fluid in the middle of the brain, that lasted for six months, researchers said Thursday. It is a colorless and watery fluid that flows in or around the brain and spinal cord. It protects the brain by removing waste products.
Based on brain scans of 30 astronauts, researchers found that it took three years for the ventricles to fully recover after such visits. He suggested that an interval of at least three years duration between long space missions would be appropriate.
Neuroscientist Heather McGregor of the University of Florida, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, said,
“If the ventricles don’t have enough time to recover between back-to-back missions, it could affect the brain’s ability to cope with fluid changes in microgravity”.