Is this Our Fate

Space travel makes you ugly

A scientist reckons that long-distance space travel will leave us short, fat and bald. Space Shuttle Columbia /PA pics Astrobiologist Dr Lewis Dartness revealed at the Cheltenham Science Festival that living without gravity would cause space travellers' bones and muscles not to develop properly, leaving them stunted and weak. Meanwhile, the lack of effort needed to move around in low gravity and a temperature-controlled environment would mean that "future spacemen and women are likely to become pretty chubby." And it gets worse. "Without gravity, fluid would float up to pool in the skull, which would cause the head to look permanently swollen out of proportion", Dr Dartness added. Warming to his subject, he continued: "Also, with no need for hair to insulate the head or eyelashes to flick dust from their eyes, future humans may become completely hairless." The Kepler space telescope, which was launched earlier this year, is expected to find a number of fertile Earth-like planets dotted around the cosmos. However, while some of them may be capable of hosting complex life, the astronomical distances mean that boldly going where no man has gone before could take generations.

ANANOVA.COM





Apart from the "chubby" aspect, although this could be a controlled diet, I think we're on a winner here!

Opinions?

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[edit on 9/6/2009 by Mirthful Me]

Short, fat and balding? I know quite a few people who fit that category and I don't think they've been to space.

We have an awful lot of obstacles to overcome before we can seriously start exploring space, it's kind of depressing but we'll get there eventually.

I just want to say small, weak looking hairless beings with large heads sounds awfully goddamn familiar to me.

Maybe they know this because the Greys are a space faring people and maybe that is how they became the way they are (if they exist, which they may not)

a whole race of George Costanzas...right on!Maybe we will end up meeting an alien race of Kramers.

No i reckon we will goto one gender, we are heading there already.

reply to post by Daisy-Lola

Well, I think any long-term space mission (more than a year) will only be undertaken in ships with artificial gravity.

The people designing the manned Mars mission have even considered cost-effective methods of producing artificial gravity and perhaps may use artificial gravity on the first manned Mars mission.

Kind of makes me think we could turn out like greys or something you know?
No hair, big old swollen heads.