Feb 18
Bears: The Future of Space Travel
Posted in: science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
Well, not so much the bears themselves–something tells me that letting a grizzly loose on a space station might not be particularly beneficial to the mission. Rather, the key here is bear hibernation, which scientists believe could be a key to enabling travel into deep space.
This assessment comes after a recent study conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which found that hibernating black bears slow metabolic activity by 75 percent, despite only slight reductions in their body temperatures. Generally it’s understood that large changes in metabolism come with large changes in body temperature, a 50 percent drop in metabolism coming with a 50 degree Fahrenheit drop in temperature.
Scientist Øivind Tøien describes the measuring process thusly,
We measured the bears’ metabolism by continuously measuring the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations of the air entering and leaving the den. The transmitters inside each bear told us that the bear’s body temperature was not stable, but varied over the winter in slow cycles each lasting several days
Tøien believes that the discovery could make it possible to induce hibernation in people, thus making it possible to survive the long periods required for deep space travel.
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