Technology Info Crunch

By Evan Dashevsky March 21, 2017  A little over a half-century ago , cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to reach outer space. This amazing feat sparked the space race, during which humanity was convinced space exploration would transform everything. This adorable age of optimism was perhaps best illustrated by Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: a Space Odyssey , which appeared to be a completely plausible vision of the not-so-distant future. This naïve hopefulness was completely understandable. The nation had just watched the automobile transition from a primitive sputter boxes into sleek metal-encased muscle cars over the course of a few decades. So surely, space technology (with all those computers and whatnot) would evolve even quicker. Fast forward to the real 2001, and it became painfully obvious that that whole space thing wasn't going to pan out quite how Kubrick had predicted. As of writing, only about 500 humans have eve...

Being in space for extended lengths of time can place a great deal of physical stress on an astronaut’s body. The weightlessness associated with lack of gravity can cause health issues such as skeletal deterioration, back pain, and fluid collection in the upper body. Readapting to the conditions on Earth places even further stress and pressure on the lower body. To counteract these risks and improve overall health, scientists have invented a ‘space suction device’ that allows astronauts to exercise at their normal body weight. Ultimately, such technologies are necessary if humanity is ever going to make it through extended space missions, like the ones that would be necessary to reach alien planets surrounding other stars. The technology is called the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) device, and its purpose is to create an ‘artificial form of gravity.’ The device itself creates a seal around the person’s waist, giving the sensation of weight on the lower body. A diagr...