Although more research is needed, scientists write in the article Published in nature Men’s immune systems are more affected by space travel than women’s.
An added incentive for the European Space Agency (ESA) space organization to send more women into space. “Women’s immune systems are more resistant to it than men’s,” explains Philipp Schönjans. ESA Oniont to Editie NL. “In addition, women eat and weigh less.” These are all important reasons to train more women to become astronauts. “At ESA, we focused on getting more female astronauts. Initially, it was mainly about diversity, but when you talk about long spaceflights, women are better able to handle it than men.”
Because women’s bodies are generally smaller than men’s, this provides many benefits. “You simply need fewer kilograms to go into space as a woman. And every fewer kilogram to Mars is worth a lot more.” However, he is not advocating sending only women into space. “I think you have to have a good mix. Men, for example, have other qualities — like strength — that are helpful.”
In recent years, far more men (698) have gone into space than women (81). Mindy Howard trains astronauts, and she’s trying with her organization Cosmic girls To get more women into space. “It’s very beneficial to send women into space. They’re smaller, they use less oxygen and less food.”
But according to her, there is another important reason to train women for space travel. “If we want to settle on another planet, we need women to have children. It may be an unpopular point of view, but you really need the female body above all else to be able to create new life.” She hopes that more attention will be paid to the female body. “We should do more research into the different types of attraction and what happens to women’s bodies.”
Effect on the body
No astronaut will be left behind on a space flight. ESA’s Schönjans explains that zero gravity in particular has a big impact on the body. “You will have problems with your brain, your vision will deteriorate and you will suffer from osteoporosis. This can resolve when you come back, but it often takes some time.” Research now shows that women recover faster than men. “It’s not good for a body to go into space. It’s still possible to do a short trip to the moon for a few weeks, but a two-year space trip to Mars is a different story. Then you also have to deal with radiation-carcinogenic cosmic objects and no body, a man who was Or a woman, to bear that.”
