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Reddit mentions of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Sentiment score: 7
Reddit mentions: 18
We found 18 Reddit mentions of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Here are the top ones.
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W W Norton Company
Specs:
Height | 8.3 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | April 2011 |
Weight | 0.57 Pounds |
Width | 0.8 Inches |
http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/0393339912/ref=asap_bc
This has a chapter on such studies. Remember that this means you don't sit up, you don't change clothes, you don't wash, you poop in a bowl, etc. Sounds awful to me.
As /u/dnew just stated:
>http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/0393339912/ref=asap_bc
>This has a chapter on such studies. Remember that this means you don't sit up, you don't change clothes, you don't wash, you poop in a bowl, etc. Sounds awful to me.
It's not going to be a fun study.
Cellular growth and development in microgravity is very interesting. Given how much the human body changes and/or deteriorates without constant force being applied, one can hazard a guess at how differently a human being might develop if conception and their entire growth cycle occurred sans gravity.
For example, Astronaut Cady Coleman has mentioned that as a white, petite 50 year old woman, she was quite concerned about bone loss during her ISS mission (Expedition 27). Appreciable bone density loss is experienced by most astronauts, and has largely been proven to be in direct relation to impact related exercise. Dr. Coleman followed a strict dietary supplement, exercise and osteoporotic drug treatment regimen partially described in this NIH paper. As a result, she experienced zero bone density loss. However, her bone density distribution changed significantly, creating an architecture that was thicker on the edges and more porous in the interior. I mention race, as African American women experience 16-28% less bone density loss in comparable duration spaceflights.
Vestibular and circulatory systems change, as well, and most long-duration spaceflight astronauts experience significant periods of re-adaptation when returning to Earth.
As far as life-cycle development:
Fluid dynamics is one of most complicated and highly studied aspects of spaceflight. Human bodies are one giant fluid dynamics problem, from intercellular transport to circulatory issues to urinary tract issues. (Fat, red faces on astronauts aren't necessarily because there's no gravity pushing urine to the bottom of the bladder, so they have no idea when they really gotta go, it's also because blood and body fluids require cardiovascular exertion to drive movement).
Red blood cells also become more spherical, and your spine decompresses, painfully forcing you to "grow" up to two inches. Embryos experience some degree of gravitropism, for example, certain amphibians orient themselves to gravity within seconds of fertilization.
Then we get into Seasonal Affective Disorder, and implications of living in a tin-can with zero exposure to natural seasonal changes, and we can move on quickly from there to radiation exposure. For example, rumor has it a female astronaut has exceeded her exposure allowance, 400REM and can no longer fly in space. No recorded increase in cancer incidence, but we have to be careful, just the same.
Honestly, I could happily write about this for the next three days straight and not even begin to address all the issues with human growth, development, and functions in microgravity, but I think you'd get a better read out of the following:
I highly suggest reading The Fundamentals of Space Medicine by Gilles Clement and Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, if you have further interest.
Completely and horrifically unrealistic. This book actually has a chapter on this very topic, discussed on the concept of people bailing out of a crashing plane. Basically, without specialized gear and specialized training, you'd die.
At the altitude and speeds airplanes are flying, it is far too easy for a person to get caught in a spin, spinning you to death before you can properly deploy a chute. The air is thin enough that it can be hard to correct yourself. Also, at the speeds we are dealing with, opening up your mouth could cause your gut to literally rupture. Look at what jets with ejection seats do- they launch you, in a whole, padded, stabilized seat, in the direction of your motion to minimize the acceleration on you, and it is still incredibly dangerous with people frequently breaking bones or not surviving.
just some of my standard answers.
The Disappearing Spoon- yes, it's chemistry but I found it very interesting.
Abraham Lincoln's DNA- if you have a good background in genetics you might already know many of these stories. Read the table of contents first.
New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers- disease based biology. There is a follow up book if it turns out you like it.
Stiff- more than you wanted to know about dead bodies.
And by the same author but space based... Packing for Mars.
I hope these help... Cheers.
One of my all time favorites is Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, about a climbing season on Mount Everest where a lot of things went wrong.
I also enjoy Mary Roach - she has a great gift of being able to convey information while being really entertaining in the process. Stiff is my favorite of hers, but I also really enjoyed Packing For Mars.
Mary Roach! Mary Roach Mary Roach!
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Packing of Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
I can't recommend these highly enough. Mary Roach is the most engaging, funny science writer I've read.
Also [A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman]http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Senses-Diane-Ackerman/dp/0679735666/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323874194&sr=1-1
[Packing for Mars] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393339912/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497231768&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=packing+for+mars) is a great accessible read on a lot of the practical challenges of getting humans to Mars. I really enjoyed it.
You're doing this wrong. If you approach books as a task for self-edification that you view as a duty, you're going to hate it. Read whatever you want, for entertainment. Read funnystuff. Read thrillers. Read fantasy. Read weird science fiction. Heck, read history, economics, and science.
TL;DR: Read whatever the hell you feel like, and I guarantee you you will feel better about yourself than you would have by forcing yourself through Ulysses or War and Peace.
I would start off with Stiff and then Bonk. I liked Spook but on amazon it doesn't have as good of reviews as the others so I'd read that one later if you aren't as interested in it. I've yet to read packing for mars but if it's anything like her other books, it's wonderful.
http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/0393339912
If you're interested there is a great book called Packing for Mars, that goes through the history of space travel and includes a good section on astronaut diets and excrement amongst many other things.
http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/0393339912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342447493&sr=8-1&keywords=packing+for+mars
Vaguely-related anecdote incoming!
In Packing For Mars, the author notes that only two sizes of urine tube (basically a condom-like device for in-suit urine collection) were made for the Apollo program, 'large' and 'extra large'. one of each was sent with Apollo 13, though it is unknown which crewmember wore which.
Mary Roach spends a whole chapter talking about astronaut sexual activity in Packing for Mars
Right, I know about terminal velocity, but I don't mean the downward vector. I mean one's lateral speed. Issues of oxygen aside, a jumbo jet moves pretty fast, like close to 500mph, right? So, when you jump out, you're not only going down, but you're also going forwards, very very fast. And, according to this book:
> At 350 mph, the cartilage of the nose deforms and the skin of the face starts to flutter... At faster speeds, this Q force causes deformations that can, as the Aviation Medicine paper gingerly phrases it, 'exceed the strength of tissue.'
Furthermore,
> Cruising speed for a transcontinental jet is between 500 and 600mph. Do not bail out. 'Fatality,' to quote Dan Fulgham, 'is pretty much indicated.' At 400mph, windblast will remove your helmet... At 500 mph, 'ram air' blasts down your windpipe with enough force to rupture various elements of your pulmonary system.
If you pick up that book, it's chapter 13, in case you were wondering.
edit: some formatting
You might like Mary Roach's book - Packing for Mars. She'll give you some great tidbits about the problems in travelling to Mars.
In terms of the furtherst a man made object has travelled, Voyager 2 has a twitter stream that tells you it's current distance in lightyears, along with what system checks it's doing.
Be sure to read Packing for Mars.