Making the long trip to Mars? Let NASA put you in a deep sleep

cnet ^ | /6 October 2014 11:17 pm BST | Anthony Domanico

[BenLurkin]

We haven't had the need to keep someone in (therapeutic torpor) for longer than seven days," Mark Schaffer, aerospace engineer for SpaceWorks Enterprises said at the International Astronomical Congress in Toronto last week. "For human Mars missions, we need to push that to 90 days, 180 days. Those are the types of mission flight times we're talking about."

To go into stasis, astronauts would basically have a tube stuck up their nose that releases a cooling agent, which gradually lowers the body temperature to the 89 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit range needed to induce torpor. A nasal solution, says SpaceWorks Enterprises, while less comfortable than external cooling pads, would be preferable since pads could cause tissue damage. The crew could be woken up either by stopping the flow of the cooling agent, or by using warming pads to speed up the process.

The crew would be fed through an IV tube while in stasis, and one scenario being discussed features a low-gravity stasis room to help offset muscle loss while sleeping. Possible options for stasis, according to SpaceWorks Enterprises, include keeping the crew in full stasis for the entire duration of the flight or having a shift system where one member is awake for 2-3 days, then put in a 14-day stasis until their next shift.

[ansel12]

A Deep sleep?

The first thing that popped in my head was the effect that Henry Kissinger’s voice has on me..........whoaaa, I’m nodding off just thinking about him.

[Celtic Conservative]

I think Ben Stein’s voice would work equally well:

“Bueller, Bueller, ,,,,,,,, anyone?”

CC

[alexander_busek]

We haven't had the need to keep someone in (therapeutic torpor) for longer than seven days," [...] To go into stasis, astronauts would basically have a tube stuck up their nose that releases a cooling agent [...] to induce torpor.

Well, what is it? Torpor or stasis. Those are two quite distinct physiological conditions.

Regards,

[Secret Agent Man]

if they’re being fed they’re gonna have wastes to deal with.

second, not exercising in zero-g/low-g is going to have them very weak and muscle loss and bone loss will be significant.

further forget it if there’s an emergency that requires immediate action.

[dfwgator]

[Organic Panic]

I feel like I’ve been stuck in a nightmare I can’t wake up from for the past 6 years. Trained professional astronauts should manage well.