主页 七年 绝世武神 修真大学生 剑出无名 风声 岁月龙城 我们都要好好的 第二位格
当前位置：首页 > 我穿书做的那些事 > Scientists are collecting pee from SpaceX travelers. There's a good reason. 正文

Scientists are collecting pee from SpaceX travelers. There's a good reason.

时间：2025-06-14 12:42:21 来源：不由自主网

Jay Buckey flew to space as a NASA astronaut in 1998. Decades later,关键字1 he watched one of his experiments leave Earth on a SpaceX rocket.

The space company's Polaris Dawn endeavor — a private venture funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman — is a five-day mission around Earth featuring an ambitious attempt at a spacewalk. The mission also carries dozens of science experiments, including one designed by Buckey, today a professor of medicine and director of Dartmouth College's Space Medicine Innovations Lab, and Mimi Lan, a Dartmouth PhD candidate and engineer.

Specifically, it's a device to collect the SpaceX travelers' urine. It's part of the scientists' aim to track bone loss in astronauts — particularly in future deep space journeys — and to monitor whether a space traveler is at risk for developing kidney stones. That's because, in space, calcium leaves our bones, enters the bloodstream, and exits in the urine.

You May Also Like

"If you remove gravity, the bone starts to break down," Buckey told Mashable after the mission successfully launched on Sept. 10.

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

Buckey and Lan want to prove that the "first morning void" — the first pee in the morning and usually the most concentrated one of the day — can reliably track bone loss and show if astronauts are at a higher risk for developing kidney stones. (Kidney stones are created when substances like calcium become too concentrated in urine.) If this were to happen in en route to, say Mars, an alerted astronaut could start drinking plenty more water, or if needed, take medication. No one wants to pass a kidney stone ever; particularly in a tiny space capsule.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!
"If you remove gravity, the bone starts to break down."

The SpaceX passengers will use the device similar to the one shown below, held by Lan, to collect their concentrated first morning urine. In outer space, urinary calcium goes up briskly, so the researchers suspect that just one a.m. void on this condensed mission will be enough to show they can reliably capture a usable sample. For this experiment, the samples won't be analyzed in space, but will be taken to a lab on Earth. (For comparison, the SpaceX passengers provided urine samples before launch.)

Mimi Lan holding a urine collection device, similar to the one aboard SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission.Mimi Lan holding a urine collection device, similar to the one aboard SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission. Credit: David Haley / Dartmouth College

NASA is intensively investigating bone loss in astronauts, and how to prevent it — so such a tracking device could be hugely relevant as the agency endeavors to build a lunar-orbiting space station and send people to deeper space.

Related Stories
  • NASA’s most unusual astronaut has died
  • Plane snaps rare footage of a spacecraft reentering Earth from space
  • The best telescopes for gazing at stars and solar eclipses in 2024
  • Aliens haven't contacted us. Scientists found a compelling reason why.
  • If a scary asteroid will actually strike Earth, here's how you'll know

"For every month in space, astronauts’ weight-bearing bones become roughly 1 percent less dense if they don’t take precautions to counter this loss," the agency explains. "Much research focuses on determining the right combination of diet, exercise, and medication to keep astronauts healthy during missions and when they return to Earth or set foot on the Moon or Mars."

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst exercising on the space station to combat loss of muscle and bone density.ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst exercising on the space station to combat loss of bone density and muscle. Credit: NASA

While orbiting the moon, or on a long voyage to Mars or an asteroid, Buckey envisions an astronaut collecting their first morning void for three days in a row every couple weeks or so. That seems like an achievable option in cramped quarters, amid days filled with spacecraft operations, attempting to exercise, run experiments, and survive. Many of the next expeditions to the moon and Mars won't be aboard a spacious space shuttle (which was large enough to carry eight astronauts).

"The future is smaller flights in small capsules," Buckey said.

上一篇：宇宙巡航机1代全地图怎么通关
下一篇：The Path to Season 02: DMZ Update
相关内容
最新内容
推荐内容
热点内容
-- 友情链接 --

关于网站 | 网站声明 | 用户反馈 | 合作伙伴 | 友情链接 | 联系我们 | 服务收费

Copyright © 2025 Powered by Scientists are collecting pee from SpaceX travelers. There's a good reason.,不由自主网   sitemap