The NASA astronauts’ vacuum sleeping bags are designed to prevent vision loss during missions to Mars

(Photo by NASA via Getty Images) JEZERO CRATER, MARS – FEBRUARY 18: In this handout image provided by NASA, the first high resolution color image captured by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the bottom of NASA’s Perseverance was returned to Mars rover after landing in the area known as Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021 on the planet Mars. A major objective of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including looking for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the geology of the planet and the climate of the past, pave the way for human exploration of the red planet and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rocks and regolith.

NASA astronauts’ new high-tech vacuum sleeping bags attempt to provide a solution to their vision problems as the space agency prepares for long-term missions to the moon and later to Mars.

(Photo: NASA via Getty Images)
JEZERO CRATER, MARS – FEBRUARY 18: In this NASA handout image is the first high resolution color image returned by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after landing in the known area as Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021 on the planet Mars. A major objective of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including looking for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the geology of the planet and the climate of the past, pave the way for human exploration of the red planet and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rocks and regolith.

NASA astronauts and vision problems

Although NASA has been sending astronauts to the International Space Station or the ISS for a few months for years, the solution to their vision problems after their return to Earth remains to be seen.

According to the GenSide UK report, the strange effect of being in space for a long time was discovered back in 2005.

During this time, a NASA astronaut, John Philips, flew back to Earth with a marked decrease in his eyesight after spending six months on the ISS. His vision went from 20/20 to 20/100 after his space mission.

After that, there were a couple of theories that arose from the incident.

However, the reason for this wasn’t cleared up until after research led by a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Miami, Noam Alperin.

The study further found that the vision problem from being in space after a few months is caused by a change in the chemistry of a person’s brain.

More specifically, research has found that cerebral spinal fluid increases in some parts of the astronaut’s brain, which then leads to significant loss of vision.

The extra fluid in the brain specifically causes the human eyeballs to flatten permanently, which leads to visual disturbances or, in worse cases, blindness.

NASA astronauts vacuum sleeping bags

With that said, a group of scientists at the University of Texas’ Southwestern Medical Center, or UT, focused on studying the problem NASA astronauts face with their eyesight.

According to the Republic World report, the US space agency reached out to UT for a solution to their astronauts’ angry vision problem.

NASA is also looking forward to bringing people back to the moon and the red planet shortly thereafter.

The scientist’s study led them to develop a vacuum sleeping bag that could prevent the flattening of the eyeballs of those who will be in space for a few months.

Also read: China’s space program uses powerful nuclear reactor for missions to Mars! 100x more efficient than NASA’s

NASA astronauts sleeping bags: this is how it works

Essentially, the sleeping bags for NASA astronauts help keep their body fluids from flowing into their brains.

To do this, the researchers built a vacuum or suction function into the sleeping bag instead of the force of gravity on the earth.

It is worth noting that such vision problems are impossible on our home planet, as the fluids from our head enter our body as soon as we get out of bed.

On the other hand, at least half a gallon of human body fluids in space remain on their heads. The sleeping bag is designed to keep the chemicals from staining your head.

Related article: Terraforming Mars with an artificial magnetic field? Experts say it is possible through Martian Moon Phobos, but how?

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Written by Teejay Boris

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