Sleeping bag for astronauts that will solve problems with vision and pressure has been created

[Kevin_Hall]

Quote

A subtle smile emerged on Dr. James Leidner’s face as he envisioned telling people of the unusual contribution he made to mankind’s mission to Mars. For 72 straight hours, the study volunteer lay in a bed at UT Southwestern, the monotony broken only at night when researchers placed his lower body in a sealed, vacuum-equipped sleeping bag to pull down body fluids that naturally flowed into his head while supine. New research published in JAMA Ophthalmology shows that by suctioning these fluids and unloading brain pressure, the specially designed sleeping bag may prevent vision problems astronauts endure in space, where fluids float into the head and continually push and reshape the back of the eyeball.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/936908

I Hope there won't be any problems while its exploitation. What do you think of it?

[Ken Fabian]

Since it isn't possible to put the equivalent of compression wrapping around our heads to keep down excess blood and fluid perhaps anti-compression wrapping of the rest makes a kind of sense.

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, Kevin_Hall said:

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/936908

I Hope there won't be any problems while its exploitation. What do you think of it?

Something odd about the linked article. It claims half a gallon of fluid can gather in the head:

"SANS is not a problem on Earth, where gravity pulls fluids down into the body each time a person gets out of bed. In space, the lack of gravity prevents this daily unloading process, allowing more than half a gallon of body fluids to gather in the head and apply pressure to the eyeball."

What can this mean? There is no way that any significant extra volume of fluid can get into someone's head, given the rigidity of the skull, surely? 

[mistermack]

This is a rather confusing article. The eyes are kept inflated under pressure, like a balloon. Fluid is produced into the eye, and there is a drain that slowly releases it. I have glaucoma, where the drain develops a kink, causing raised pressures in the eyes. Raised pressures, over time can damage the optic nerve and cause blindness. It doesn't seem likely that fluid could just drift into the back of the eye, against that pressure. And the half gallon mentioned just has to be wrong. Having said that, the researchers would know their field, so it must be a real phenomenon.

I can't see this sleeping bag actually playing any part in a Mars mission though. I would say that the planners would have to bite the bullet for a Mars mission, and provide artificial gravity, for the health of the Astronauts. You can do it with a spinning craft, made from two units connected with a tether, about 225 metres long. If the two units spin at a rate of 2 rpm, you will produce 1g of artificial gravity, without any adverse effects on the balance organs. 

With computer controlled balancing systems, there's no reason why that couldn't be made to work effectively. The eye problem is only one of the known health problems from prolonged zero gravity. And on a Mars mission, you might well get unknown problems cropping up that haven't been encountered up till then.