Considering The Dangers of Premature Space Tourism
The International Space Station (ISS) serves many purposes. Above all, however, it is a giant petri dish floating in space that will give us a glimpse into the effects of space travel on the human body. It will likely take a lifetimes to truly understand the vast array of consequences one can face as a result of being in space even if only for a short amount of time. Technological capabilities have grown rapidly since we’ve first launched humans into space, and is now taking a turn for commercialization likely to begin with space tourism. However the idea of human civilians physically participating in the new space economy before having a concrete understanding of its effects on the human body and human psyche, could spell potential problems for the commercial space industry than profits.
Space tourism is a pretty straight-forward concept - “space travel for the man or woman in the street” (Svetlik, 2018). While it seems futuristic, companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin have already began extensive efforts to bring space tourism to the common joe. In fact, SpaceX has already received a deposit from its first two tourists to undergo fitness tests in preparation for their first galactic vacation (Svetlik, 2018).
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) states that the ISS “provides an extraordinary research platform for experiments in the biological and medical sciences” (CASIS, 2016). The platform being so extraordinary because, as CASIS admits, “microgravity induces a vast array of changes in organisms” (2016). The ISS has been continuously inhabited for almost twenty years at this point, over the course of which many experiments have been done. CASIS goes on to report in 2016 that a culmination of results from various experiments have led ISS scientists to a few conclusions on the effects of microgravity on living organisms:
Altered gene expression can result in changes to cellular immune function and microbial growth
Altered processes of differentiation and cell communication
Tissue cultures grown in three dimensions
Changes in body stem cells result in bone loss, immunosuppression, vision changes and loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength
This list likely reflects a minuscule amount of all there is to understand about the effects of space travel on the human body. Not to mention radiation levels in space, which humans are no longer naturally protected by once they leave earth’s atmosphere. While human space travel is largely viewed as a positive achievement, the information gathered on the ISS has been a continuous effort for a reason. Any findings on the effects of space on earth life, whether intentional or unintentional, will be the building blocks from which we construct our understanding of space. Space tourism will only be the beginning or commercialization in space, and commercialization will be only the beginning of space exploration.
The FAA has already undergone regulatory processes regarding commercial space transportation similar to what they have done with the aviation industry (FAA, 2001). Despite plenty of successful spaceflights, the process is not perfect. In fact, it is possible that a full scale launch process as we know today will not even be necessary for recurring commercial flights. Innovation in launch infrastructure and transportation design will be essential to efficient commercialization of space. As a result, the FAA will need to constantly adapt regulations, security measures, and infrastructure management to be an effective regulator of the National Airspace System. Not to mention space veterans have undergone immense amounts of training prior to launch. This includes physical fitness, mental fitness, safety precautions, and general knowledge of space phenomena, not to mention a slew of other operational mitigation procedures in event of an emergency. The private sector will need to find some way to ensure all tourists are properly trained in the amount of time it takes your flight attendant to review the safety briefing before your domestic flight.
As capabilities increase and the private sector indulges shifting market values, space travel will not only become cheaper, but more common and more easily accessible. Before expanding commercial space flight to full scale operations, it is imperative that we extrapolate scientific findings in space pertinent to human life cycles such that we have a valid understanding of the extent to which space tourism can subsist without causing potential harm and adverse health effects to its participants. In taking the time to properly evaluate the risks associated with commercial spaceflight, we afford ourselves the ability to design and implement innovative policy that fosters not only safe space tourism in the near future but safe deep space travel in the long term as well.
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