Content tagged "astronauts".
3 items (3 articles, 0 stories)
On Earth, fluid pools in your legs. In microgravity, it has nowhere to go but up, which is why astronauts get puffy faces and skinny legs. The real trouble is what that fluid does to the eyes: on missions of four to six months, about 70% of crew show some sign of optic nerve swelling.
In microgravity, water doesn't fall. Surface tension pulls it into floating spheres instead, which is why tears never roll down an astronaut's cheeks, they just pool around the eyes. A full-body wash takes about 150-200 mL, one cup, and a recovery system turns 98% of urine, sweat, and even breath moisture back into drinking water. The faucet in your bathroom is not something to take for granted.
In microgravity, fluid rushes to your head, your face puffs up, and your legs go skinny. Your heart changes shape and starts slacking off, while the bones that once held up your weight quietly dissolve at 1-1.5% a month. Your spine stretches, your eyesight can blur — the body simply switches off its Earth settings, and this is the story of what happens to astronauts along the way.