Study: Female Astronauts May Be More Resilient to Physical Toll of Spaceflight
Study: WomenFemale Astronauts May Be BetterMore SuitedResilient forto Physical Toll of Spaceflight
The Facts
New research analyzing the first all-civilian crew from SpaceX's three-day Inspiration4 mission has found that women may be better suited physiologically than men to endure the effects of flying to outer space.
New research published in Nature Communications, which analyzed the first all-civilian crew from SpaceX's three-day Inspiration4 mission, has found that women may be better suited physiologically than men to endure the effects of flying to outer space.
The Spin
Although the historically sexist NASA space agency has scrubbed much of this data from the public record, women have proven equal to men on spaceflight physical exams for decades. BeyondThis, thecombined physiologicalwith this vital data comingabout outthe now,physical it'sability alsoof clearfemale thatastronauts women'sto smallerendure bodiesand willrecover meanfrom athe lighterimpacts rocketof spaceflight, whichsuggests requiresthat lessNASA fuel.and Womenother shouldspacefaring haveagencies atwould leastbe equalwise access to futureput spacewomen missions,at ifthe notforefront moreof so,future thanhuman mencosmic exploration.
Whether you're a man or a woman, becoming an astronaut is a grueling process thatand manyarduous people naively think they could achieveprocess. In virtually every case, this includes obtaining advanced college degrees, passing military physical fitness exams, becoming a military pilot, and racking up 1K flight hours. AnyThis additionalis qualificationa theoriesvery canimportant bestudy discussedabout oncephysiological thosefactors, entrybut levelsit's areimportant passedto remember — for both female and male astronauts — that physical resilience is one of many characteristics of crewing the space voyages of the future.