Spacebound Bodily Functions: Activities Astronauts Can't Perform Up In Zero Gravity
Going to Space? Buckle Up for Some Gross Realities
Space travel might appear glamorous from the outside, but astronauts experience a different story. You won't find any showers during space missions, and that's just the start of it. Our bodies are designed for terra firma, and venturing into the cosmos comes with some bizarre side effects, such as astronauts being unable to burp.
To eyes uninitiated, the reason behind astronauts' inability to burp might seem puzzling. To demystify, let's understand what causes burping in the first place and how it works within the human body. Food and drinks entering our stomach undergo decomposition due to stomach acid and digestive enzymes. This process extracts essential nutrients, but it also generates substantial gas byproducts. Additionally, ingested air during consumption contributes to gas buildup. Burping alleviates this excess gas, creating free space in the stomach.
Notably, gravity plays a crucial role in this process. On Earth, gravity groups the diverse contents of our stomachs, with denser solids and liquids settling at the bottom, and lighter gas rising to the top. As gas accumulates, it ascends, putting pressure on the sphincter between the stomach and esophagus. This increased pressure causes the sphincter to open, thus releasing the gas through the mouth as a burp. In the zero-gravity conditions of space, this separation and upward release mechanism fails.
- Sources: In microgravity, the sorting of gas and stomach contents does not occur, making it physically impossible for astronauts to burp conventionally and expel gas upward [1].
- The challenges of space travel extend to health and wellness aspects, with astronauts experiencing problems such as an inability to burp due to zero-gravity conditions affecting the normal functioning of their digestive systems [1].
- Fitness and exercise are crucial for astronauts in space, but it's not just physical fitness they need to focus on; maintaining good mental health and proper nutrition becomes increasingly important during long-duration missions [1].
- Moreover, the study of space and astronomy also raises questions about our understanding of science and human biology, as these bizarre side effects experienced by astronauts challenge our assumptions about the functions of our bodies here on Earth [1].
