Crew members’ selection procedures constitute an early and very important line of defense against possible health problems on Mars. Although the medical policies have been made less strict since the earliest years of voyages outside the Earth’s atmosphere, medical examinations still should eliminate people who are likely to have conditions that will weaken in strength their performance or that are insignificant on Earth but could cause a great deal of trouble on Mars.
After selection of grew members, space travelers undergo a series of physical examinations and have the risk of medical disqualification almost to the launch (Boston 85). Good health is important factor. Yet, the superbly fit, highly trained athlete may not be the best choice for the very low apparent gravity experienced in a spacecraft. People with fitness may experience greater deconditioning and be more troubled by it than candidates who are simply in good health.
This is indicated by research demonstrating that there is little advantage to extreme exercise prior to a spacecraft taking off. There is evidence that under many conditions athletes’ work capacity decreases more rapidly than that of nonathletes. It is also stated that older, less physically active individuals adjust better to some of the stresses of low gravity experienced in a spacecraft than do their younger, more active persons (Pool et al. 352). A second line of defense is quarantine. It will restrict astronauts’ contact with other people.
This will prevent them from a communicable disease that will be noticed only after takeoff. At the beginning of spaceflight, colds and flu were not considered as a problem. The missions were so short that if an illness hadn’t broken out by the time of takeoff it was not likely that it would become full blown until after the crew members had returned to Earth just a few hours later. For Mars mission with a duration of no less than three months on the surface of the planet, various quarantine procedures must be tried.
Astronauts will undergo a strict quarantine and the number of people they encounter should be restricted. A third line of defense is controlling that the spacecraft is as clean as possible. This means following to personal clean practices, proper packaging of food, and required maintenance and frequent cleaning of sanitary facilities. Unfortunately, as Rosalind Grymes and her colleagues indicate, despite large efforts to perform sanitary measures in spacecraft, a variety of bacteria are likely to lurk in the vehicle.
There, in the closed-loop life support of the spacecraft, these bacteria will be passed from one person to another and possibly themselves recycled (Wade and Vernikos). In-flight prevention includes in-flight training and maintenance of skills, monitoring environmental systems, maintaining good health conditions, and using exercise facilities to mitigate the effects of low gravity (Boston 18). In later sections, these measures will be described.