Strange experiment on space

Fertility of the human being in space is something that scientists are interested in as the missions of space exploration become more and more prolonged.

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) first sent sperm to the International Space Station (ISS) to study whether humans can conceive in a zero gravity environment.

Special shipment

Relocated to ISS on April 2 by the Space 9 rocket of SpaceX Aeronautics Group (USA), human sperm will be the subject of some experiments to find out if the universe and low gravity work. how to male sexual cells.

According to Space Daily, it was posted and activated them with a special chemical mixture. The sperm movement during the search and fertilization of the egg will be returned and then the sperm sample is injected with preservatives to be sent back to the earth, along with other completed experiments.

The aforementioned sperm study is part of NASA's Micro-11 mission. The agency hopes to understand how the micro-gravity affects sperm's ability to swim and move in space.

"There is not much information about fertility in space and this test will answer that question for the first time by examining the ability of sperm in the space" - NASA said.

Fathi Karouia, NASA's leading Micro-11 project scientist, added that based on previous experiments, it seems that the environment lacks gravity to facilitate sperm movement. In another study, sperm of mice could live up to 9 months in space and then be used to successfully fertilize mice on Earth.

Scientists at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida state - the United States prepared frozen sperm before launching to ISS.(Photo: NASA).

Genetic modification

Research will help clarify whether fertilization can take place in space and whether sperm activity in space is different from Earth."We still do not know how long missions in space will affect human reproductive health and this study will be the first step to understand if fertility exists under reduced conditions. gravity or not " - NASA explains.

Some experts believe that with deep space exploration missions that are almost unavoidable in the future, fertility plays an important role because people may have to live on large-scale space stations or living environments other than outer space for years or even generations. If people start living permanently in space, technology to support reproduction to preserve sperm plays a very important role in maintaining the race. The worry is that the space is not a human-friendly environment. The ISS radiation is 100 times stronger than on Earth, threatening to damage DNA in cells and gametes.

A new NASA study finds an extra-terrestrial life for a year that could alter an astronaut's gene expression (the way genes function within cells). According to the study, 7% of gene expression by astronaut Scott Kelly is not the same as when he returned to earth two years ago.

Research about what happens to Scott Kelly before, during and after he lives on ISS for a year through comparisons with his twin brother Mark Kelly - who lives only on Earth. According to CNN, although Scott's gene expression changed, he and Mark were identical.

Researchers have noted that astronautics are associated with stress due to lack of oxygen, an increased risk of inflammation and a dramatic change in nutrition and all of these factors affect gene expression. The study showed that 93% of Scott Kelly's gene expression returned to normal after he returned to Earth but still had some genes affected.

Some of these changes only occurred after space flight and were thought to be caused by the pressure of this journey. According to the study, one of the most important changes to Scott Kelly's cell is oxygen depletion, probably due to oxygen depletion and high carbon dioxide content.

The study helps NASA better understand what happens to the human body in space longer than the six-month missions on the previously studied ISS. Scott Kelly's one-year mission is a scientific preparation for the plan to explore Mars for three years.

Studying how the human body adjusts to adapt to gravity, isolation, radiation and stress in a longest space mission ever is necessary before it actually takes place. out.