Is Russia Becoming Too Old For Space?

It looks as if the future of humanity may lie in the hands of America and China. Not only does it seem that Russia is unable to afford a lunar trip, but now they may not have the resources to greatly assist NASA.

(RIA Novosti) This country plans to continue to upgrade its aging launch vehicles, service the International Space Station (ISS) and develop new spacecraft, including satellites that can operate for a decade rather than just 12 months. This is why Russia needs a powerful, multi-purpose and cost-effective spacecraft industry, something that seems to be lacking today. [...]

The Russian space industry will eventually be reorganized along civilian lines, but who is going to work there? The problem is that its 250,000 employees have an average age of 46. In effect, Russian space companies are getting older and more obsolete in every respect, including their human resources.

Although the American space industry is facing a similar problem regarding rocket scientists, it seems as if Russia currently has little to offer NASA as far as support goes.

It makes one wonder if all those press releases were merely wishful thinking on their part.

Micro Gravity Surgery Becoming A Reality?

With all of our eagerness to conquer the final frontier, we often over look a minor yet critical job that will be needed while en route to Mars, Jupiter or beyond the Sun's influence--space surgeons.

A team from France will be removing a cyst from a man via robots, the first ever attempted feat while in micro gravity.

(MSNBC) The operation, announced Monday by chief surgeon Dominique Martin and the French space agency, is part of a project backed by the European Space Agency that aims to develop earth-guided surgical space robots. [...]

Albertoni said the cyst removal operation was chosen because it is relatively simple and involves a local anesthetic.

The doctors say their experience Wednesday could help in the development of robots to perform surgeries in space.

Thanks to the Airbus A300 (which can simulate micro gravity by climbing and falling throughout the atmosphere), doctors will be able to perform the operation and take notes for the medical community.

Operating on someone while in space will not be an easy feat, mainly because blood and other liquids would have an easier time floating out of the body, not to mention sharp floating objects (i.e. scalpels). Although the latter can be restrained via magnets, the former may be a bit harder to stop in space.

Using space robots to operate may be a wise decision as there may not be too many doctors interested in working off world.

Space Doctor, Anyone?

Despite the fact that science fiction shows usually cast space doctors as a main character, it is ironic that we are only now seriously considering "casting a role" for one within our solar travels.

(Universe Today) If humans are going to be spending longer periods in space, on the Moon, or even on Mars, it's just a matter of time before they'll need surgery. Can delicate surgery even be done in the weightlessness? [...]

Professor Adam Dubrowksi of surgery doesn't see why not, and he's making space surgery a focus of his research.

There'll be a need for it once astronauts in the International Space Station begin to stay on board for extended periods, says Dubrowski, who is also a kinesiologist in the Surgical Skills Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Although astronauts are given some medical training (several hours at best), a skilled physician will be a "necessary good" onboard, especially for deep space missions towards the Moon or even Mars.

The Canadian Space Agency is already planning to develop a "surgery training protocol" for future astronaut doctors, in order to make sure that they are prepared for operating within a microgravity environment.

(Universe Today) Space-surgery training will be three-pronged, Dubrowski explains. The first step is adaptation to zero gravity using an inverted paradigm in which experimental participants are placed upside down on something similar to a bed to "get more of an idea of weightlessness."

The second step will be simulating zero gravity in a swimming pool [...]

Third, trainees will take their basic surgery skills on parabolic flights in which an airplane ascends and descends roughly 40 times, creating a transient zero-gravity environment on the descents.

These tests will probably be expanded once humanity establishes a strong presence on the Moon. Although medical personnel may become a common scene aboard the space station and elsewhere, hopefully they will be as exciting as the doctors seen on Star Trek or Babylon 5.