Non-fiction: Astral Bodie

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Astral Bodies
By Kirsten We ir
The personal risks that astronauts face in space
Astronauts are heroes, brave men and women who take giant leaps
for humankind. No matter how great the leap, though, their bodies
remain stubbornly terrestrial, adapted for life on solid ground
Mary Roach takes a look at the personal challenges of space travel in her
new book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. What
does it take to stay healthy and happy in the depths of space? he
answers, Roach says, are surprising, inspiring, and often pretty gross.
Space Sanitation
!onsider, for instance, basic hygiene. "n #arth we take bathing for
granted. $n a cramped space capsule%not so much.
he first spacecraft had no bathtubs or showers. And as astronauts
ventured farther into space, the trips got longer and stinkier. NA&A's
(emini )$$ mission in *+,- involved .two men, two weeks, no bathing,
same underwear,/ writes Roach. 0y day four, the astronauts described the
stench wafting from their spacesuits as .absolutely horrible./
he first spacecraft had no toilets, either. Astronauts pooped in plastic
bags. When bacteria break down human waste, they release gas as a by1
product. o prevent gas from building up and bursting the bags, the
astronauts had to massage a germicide 2a solution that kills bacteria3 into
the waste. hey found the whole process .distasteful,/ Roach writes.
4ortunately for today's astronauts on the $nternational &pace &tation, a
toilet is on board.
NA&A5Roger Ressmeyer5!orbis
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An astronaut cleans a toilet on the
space shuttle Endeavour.
"ne of the biggest challenges in space is coping with what's missing6
gravity. (ravity is a force of attraction between two ob7ects that have
mass. "n #arth, the planet's massive gravity pulls you toward it. $n the
8ero gravity of space, tools float away and water droplets drift off, making
it almost impossible to perform everyday tasks. .#verything on #arth is
designed for life with gravity,/ Roach e9plains. .#verything you build for
space has to be rethought./
Roach got a taste of no gravity aboard a NA&A plane nicknamed the
.)omit !omet./ $t's designed to fly in paraboas 2:1shaped curves3. "n
the downward path of each curve, gravity disappears.
he sensation of 8ero gravity was surprising, Roach says. ;our arms don't
pull down on your shoulders. ;our hair doesn't sit on your scalp. ;our
organs float up beneath your rib cage instead of hanging heavily in your
gut. .$t's like you're unburdened from something you didn't know was
weighing you down,/ Roach told Current Science. .$t's so comfortable, you
7ust feel giddy. <lus 7ust to fly across the room like &uperman%it's a
dream=/
Falling Apart
>ife without gravity isn't all fun and games. Working muscles counteract
gravity and enable you to walk and lift ob7ects. Without gravity to fight
against, astronauts' muscles get no workout. hey atrophy 2waste
away3.
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Non-fiction: Astral Bodie
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Non-fiction: Astral Bodie
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A< $mages
Astronauts e9ercise to
keep their bones and
muscles fit.
&pace travel also weakens the skeleton. "n #arth, every time you run or
pick up a heavy ob7ect, your bones e9perience tiny amounts of damage.
!ells called osteocytes sense that damage and send in cells to patch it
like road crews fi9ing potholes. .he repaving strengthens the bones,/
Roach writes. $n space, astronauts don't e9perience that minute
damage. heir bones aren't .repaved,/ so they weaken and become
brittle.
Muscles recover a few weeks after astronauts return to #arth, Roach
writes. $t can take months, however, for bones to build up again. &ome
studies suggest that an astronaut's weakened bones never completely
recover. hat's a concern for NA&A, which plans to send astronauts to
Mars. he round1trip 7ourney will take two or three years. No human has
ever been weightless for so long.
NA&A
Astronauts e9ercise
to keep their bones
and muscles fit.
High Costs
A Mars e9pedition raises other health concerns too. #arth's
atmosphere protects us from high1intensity radiation. oo much
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Non-fiction: Astral Bodie
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radiation can cause mutations 2random changes3 in ?NA that trigger
abnormal cell growth.
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Non-fiction: Astral Bodie
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!ancer results. he longer you're in space, the greater the risk of ?NA
mutations.
4or that reason, NA&A will probably send older astronauts to Mars. $t takes
*@ to A@ years for radiation damage to result in cancer. &o astronauts
in their ,@s would be nearing the end of their natural life spans by the
time
cancer showed up. .here are a lot of astronauts who would sign up to go to
Mars, even knowing full well the dangers,/ says Roach.
o succeed, a Mars mission would have to be totally sustainable.
<ractically everything would have to be recycled. Roach tested one of
NA&A's
sustainability solutions6 recycled urine. he foul chemicals in it had been
filtered by osmosis! a process in which water molecules pass through a
membrane, leaving dissolved particles behind. he resulting liBuid was
safe to drink%and surprisingly sweet and tasty, she writes.
A mission to Mars would cost about C-@@ billion. o Roach, it would be
worth every penny, in part because the lessons learned from it might solve
problems related to waste, energy production, and water shortages on
#arth.
.$ think we can do it,/ she says. .$ think you'll be seeing someone go to
Mars./
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Questions: Astral Bodies
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Name6 ?ate6
1. Dow can the lack of gravity in space negatively affect the health of astronauts?
A Astronauts' bones are repaved in space and they become brittle.
B Astronauts' muscles get no workout and can waste away.
C Astronauts are not e9posed to radiation that can prevent abnormal cell growth.
D Astronauts' organs may float around in their bodies and become damaged.
2. Dow do the three sections%.&pace &anitation,/ .4alling Apart,/ and .Digh !osts/%
contribute to the overall structure of the passage?
A he first two sections describe problemsE the third section describes the solution.
B he three sections describe the space shuttle improvements in chronological order.
C #ach section describes a different problem faced by space astronauts.
D #ach section considers the negative and positive effects of space travel.
3. Read the following sentences from the passage6
.4or that reason, NA&A will probably send older astronauts to Mars. $t takes *@ to A@
years for radiation damage to result in cancer. &o astronauts in their ,@s would be
nearing the end of their natural life spans by the time cancer showed up. Fhere are a lot
of astronauts who would sign up to go to Mars, even knowing full well the dangers,' says
Roach./
What can we conclude from the sentences above?
A Many NA&A astronauts would risk radiation, which may lead to cancer, for the
chance to travel to Mars.
B Astronauts of all different age groups are less willing to go to Mars because of
the threat of cancer.
C NA&A is committed to saving the lives of its aging astronauts, especially those
who are willing to go to Mars.
D NA&A is not committed to saving the lives of any of its aging astronauts.
4. Read the sentence6 .No matter how great the leap, though, their bodies remain
stubbornly terrestrial, adapted for life on solid ground./
What does adapted mean as used in this sentence?
A changed
B unaccustomed
C suited
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Questions: Astral Bodies
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D addicted
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Questions: Astral Bodies
. Which statement best describes the main idea of the passage?
A $t is important for astronauts to stay healthy, so they should limit their space
travel.
B here is nothing more worthwhile than space travel, so many astronauts are
willing to risk their lives to participate.
C he mission to Mars will solve the ma7or challenges of space travel.
D here are several ma7or challenges associated with humans travelling in space.
!. What are two challenges that astronauts going to Mars will face that
previous astronauts have not faced?
". he author begins the ninth paragraph by stating, .>ife without gravity isn't all fun
and games./ Why do you think the author wrote this sentence?
#. he Buestion below is an incomplete sentence. !hoose the answer that best
completes the sentence.
A trip to Mars may be .worth every penny/ because it might solve
problems related to waste, energy production, and water shortages on #arth.
A above all
B initially
C ultimately
D never
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Questions: Astral Bodies
$. Read the following sentence.
o prevent gas from building up and bursting the bags, the astronauts had to massage a
germicide 2a solution that kills bacteria3 into the waste.
Who is the main sub7ect of the sentence? the astronauts
Astronauts had to do what?
Why?
1%. &oca'ular( )ord6 unburdened6 to be freed or relieved from something heavy or
something that causes an9iety or distress.
:se the vocabulary word in a sentence6
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Teacher Guide & Answers: Astral
Bodies
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