Why are astronauts forbidden to drink in outer space?

Why in a lonely, stressful and frightening place like space, astronauts can't relax with alcohol?

Traveling in space, thousands of kilometers away from Earth, to explore unprecedented horizons is an extremely difficult task. Not only that, it is also stressful and scary. So why don't astronauts reward themselves with a cocktail to relax like below Earth? Unfortunately for them, most government agencies hold astronauts consuming alcoholic beverages when sending them to places like the ISS International Space Station.

But with the prospect of people having the opportunity to reach a new border - that is the ability to bring people to explore and invade Mars. With a journey that takes many years to reach such a place, should alcohol be allowed to be used as a form of entertainment? Or at least should be equipped with facilities for the exploiters to ferment drinks on the planet itself.

However, the fact that alcohol has long had a complicated relationship with space exploration. First see what happens to astronauts when they drink - and what can happen when alcohol is taken out into space?

ISS International Space Station.

Why are astronauts banned from drinking on a space station?

Many people believe that after drinking at higher altitudes, they will feel dizzy faster. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that drinking alcohol outside the earth's orbit will cause more strange effects to humans. But this concept may not be completely true.

In fact, this hypothesis was proved incorrect in the 1980s. In 1985, the US Federal Aviation Administration conducted a study to monitor whether alcohol consumption at high simulation levels affected. whether to perform complex tasks and breath alcohol meter.

In this study, 17 people were asked to make several cups of vodka on the ground and in a simulated room with a height of 12,500 feet (about 3.7 km). Later, they were asked to complete some tasks such as solving problems, tracking lights on an oscillator with a joystick, and a variety of other tests. The researchers realized that " there is no effect on the interaction between alcohol and altitude on both the alcohol meter and the test score ."

So getting drunk faster while flying is probably just an anecdote? Dave Hanson, emeritus professor of sociology at New York State University in Postdam, who has been studying alcohol and beverages for more than 40 years, said. " I can't imagine anything different when drinking in outer space. "

He said that fear of heights not only caused unpleasant feelings, but it could be like being drunk. " If someone doesn't balance the pressure in the blood, they may feel like they're drunk ."

Therefore, for those who claim that when drinking on a plane will make us feel drunk faster than usual, maybe just because they have experienced the feeling of "thinking they are drinking", which has been studied. extensive rescue for many years. It is assumed that people will act as if they are drunk when they think that they are drunk - even if they do not really consume alcohol.

" If people are flying on a plane, and they think that whatever the reason, alcohol has different effects on them, they will think it will have a different effect on them ." Hanson said.

If research has shown this to be so, isn't it a big deal to use alcohol on the ISS? No, wrong.

"It is not allowed to bring alcohol to the International Space Station (ISS) for consumption ," said Daniel G Huot, a spokesman for NASA's Johnson Space Center. " Using alcohol and other volatile compounds is controlled on the ISS because these compounds can affect the station's water recovery system. "

For this reason, space station astronauts are not even provided with alcohol-containing products, such as mouthwash, water or shaving cream. Spilling beer while wobbling in space can also put the risk of damaging devices here.

Also a matter of responsibility. Obviously, while drivers and pilots are not drunk when they are in charge of driving their vehicles, it is not surprising that the same rules apply to astronauts inside a $ 150 billion space station are traveling in a vacuum at speeds of more than 27,000 km / h.

What happens to astronauts when drinking in outer space?

Not only that, astronauts are also strictly drinking alcohol for 12 hours before flying to ensure they have enough intelligence and awareness when on duty. The reason for this regulation is clear. Still from research on the effects of alcohol at different heights conducted by the FAA in 1985, researchers have realized a small difference.

While the alcohol meter readings are the same at all altitudes, the ability of the simulated people to work at a higher altitude is slightly higher than those at the height of the simulated sea level. . It shows that, regardless of the level of alcohol consumption, elevation also has a slight impact on the astronauts' mental health. The conclusions from this study " allow for further reduction of any safety limit on manipulation after drinking alcohol. "

Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the Moon, was the first to drink wine here.

There is also another reason to avoid using foamy drinks like beer - in gravityless conditions: liquids and gas can disturb the astronaut's stomach, causing them to burp out water. .

However, despite these strict regulations, that does not mean that people never interact with fermented liquids in space. There are many experiments performed on ISS that are alcohol-related - but none of the experiments involve human consumption, so no one really knows exactly how the human body will react. .

" We do a lot of experiments on how the astronaut's body changes in space, including at the microbial level ." According to Stephanie Schierholz, NASA press secretary. " And we have a very good nutrition program to make sure their bodies get what they need to stay healthy. As with Skylab, they considered sending sherry to astronauts. But it does not give good results when checking on weightless flights . "

Schierholz added that, in tests of sherry fruit, it was used to " stimulate the reflex to vomit and also be opposed by the public ."

But perhaps the most surprising thing is that the first liquid to be drunk on the moon's surface is wine. Buzz Aldrin said in an interview and his book that he sipped some wine during the Eucharistic Ceremony, before he and Neil Armstrong walked out of the moon landing ship in 1969. Ceremony It took place in just a moment of communication with the earth, so it was never broadcast.

Although NASA has very strict rules about alcohol in space, the Russians in the past seem to be more comfortable about this. Astronaut on Mir space station is allowed to drink a small amount of cognac and vodka.

Russian Mir Space Station.

What happens when alcohol is taken out into space?

However, there are alcoholic beverages that find their way into the ISS station. In 2015, Japanese brewer Suntory sent some of his award-winning new whiskeys to this space station. This drink is part of an experiment to monitor " the development of a mild taste in alcoholic beverages through the use of a micro-gravity environment. " In other words, the way alcohol is fermented in the environment Micro gravity can be slightly different from normal, making it taste better, faster. That's what distilleries on Earth should pay attention.

In addition, from September 2011 to September 2014, NASA also funded an experiment to study the effect of micro gravity on Whiskey and how oak wood supports fermentation. After nearly 1,000 days in space, the tannins in whiskey remain unchanged - but the wood chips in space help produce products with a more dense wood flavor that blends inside.

NASA astronauts, Tom Stafford and Deke Slayton along with vodka tubes when making connections between Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft.

" This discovery is not only meaningful in the malt whiskey industry, but also for the general food and beverage industry. " NASA commented on the experiment. "The difference in flavor between the sample on the ISS and the control sample is very significant, so further studies are needed to decipher how to create different flavors. "

So, even if astronauts are banned from using alcohol for themselves while outside orbit, the research they are working on can help improve the quality of alcohol consumption. ground. Hopefully, when astronauts return to the ground, they will enjoy the fruits of those studies.