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43 Space-Travel Facts That Show a ‘Star Trek’ Future Is Still Far, Far Away

Think we’ll just hang out on Earth awhile a longer

43 Space-Travel Facts That Show a ‘Star Trek’ Future Is Still Far, Far Away

August 21, 2023

Do you remember the first time you watched Star Trek and got a glimpse of the future? The idea of being able to explore the universe was so captivating. Even though it was just a TV show, it inspired people to think about what could be possible. While there have been some amazing advances in space travel since then, we’re still a long way from fulfilling that vision. To that end, here are some reasons as to why…

43

Putin wants to establish a Russian colony on the Moon by 2030. Maybe he hasn't heard of moon dust. It's a dense powder that sticks to everything it touches and is so fine that it seeps into space suits, yet so rough that it scratches the skin like sandpaper. When astronauts tracked it into the spacecraft, the dust clogged the joints in their suits to the point that they couldn't move, and the dust was so abrasive that it wore through three layers of Kevlar-like boot material. And inhaling it is like breathing in ground quartz (silica) dust. CRACKED.COM http://www.sciencedaily. — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

42

You need good eyesight, to become an astronaut. And if you stay in space too long, you might lose it. Out in space, there's no atmosphere to protect your eyes from the constant barrage of radiation from the sun. It actually causes a flashing light show, when you close your eyes. And exposure for more than a month can permanently damage your vision. CRACKED.COM http://hews.discovery.com/space/eye-problems-astronauts-120313.htm — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

41

If the Hubble has taught us anything! it's that space is surprisingly colorful. Actually, maybe not. The Hubble doesn't have a color camera. The images we see are assembled from separate black & white images taken through color filters. Then they're adjusted to boost contrast and tweak colors and brightness to emphasize certain features of the image or to make a more pleasing picture. CRACKED.COM http://www.universetoday.com/11863/true-or-false-color-the-art-of-extraterrestrial-photography/ — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

40

Think it'd be romantic to be an astronaut? It's not. There is absolutely no sex. For one thing, there's no privacy. For another, being in space lowers your blood pressure and kills your ability to get an erection. And it's against the rules. Conception is an awful idea as well. Putting aside the reality of adding another person to a space mission, studies have shown that mice embryos fail to properly develop in microgravity. CRACKED.COM http://primary slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/02/do_astronauts_have_sex.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

39

Running from an Evil Empire? No problem, just duck into an asteroid field. And immediately get caught, because the asteroids are hundreds of thousands of miles apart. That's how space works. Closely-grouped asteroids would crash into one another, and be sent careening off with nothing to stop them. In fact, NASA scientists have calculated the odds of running into an asteroid in the belt in our Solar System as one in a billion. CRACKED.COM http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Horizons_Crosses_The_Asteroid_Belt.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

38

Zero Gravity

One fun thing about zero gravity is that you get taller. And it hurts like crazy. The human spine is a very nerve-dense part of your body, and stretching it out like an accordion is excruciating. Oh, and the nerves themselves are also in danger of getting damaged. Then, when you touch foot on terra firma again, you run the risk of your disks slipping as they snap back together. CRACKED.COM http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/space_health/background/ — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

37

You might think that an astronaut without a helmet would explode like a balloon. But actually, aside from the lack of air, they'd be okay. Human skin contains and protects the body so well it can actually negate the effect of explosive decompression. And thanks to the adaptable circulatory system, blood doesn't boil. It keeps flowing through the veins. Even freezing isn't an immediate issue despite the cold, as there's not much matter in space to absorb body heat. After a couple of minutes, the lack of air and the UV rays would be a problem. But nobody would explode. — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

36

How do astronauts stand astronaut food? CHEESE SPREAD CHEES NET - 1.5 OZ SPREA - No. NCBC اوي 1/31/2004 1200 UNIVERSITY - Cheddar Cheese Spread - Goe BJOOD Cendy Coated Peanuts Know Believe Operers Пасть written April DAME Sout Steek THE AVIAI - 4127303142 Orange Ade Easy. In space, you can't taste anything. Because of the lack of gravity, mucus tends to collect in the sinuses, giving astronauts a permanent stuffy nose. Without that sense of smell, nothing tastes like much of anything. And spicy foods are a treasured commodity, in space. CRACKED.COM http://theweek.com/articles/477770/why-astronauts-crave-spicy-food — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

35

SPACE RUINS YOUR ABILITY TO TASTE. Протертый - Crackars THE Mit 50 ml MILK 5-00 - Кремиры мры 2/28/2007 with A SPREAD CHEESE CHEES SPREA - Our 1/31/2004 DWCM - Cheddar Cheese Spread 120 ا Candy Coalled Peanuts Kread Butore Openang 9/20/2003 E Писта - - - Aparal the 2088 zo 5'1 LA ДЗ Размигчить pepci открытием Dear State Exp AGUNT بوب 4127303142 YOUR NOSE IS CONSTANTLY STUFFED. The only cure is the burning sensation of spicy food. Stuff like Tabasco sauce is prized aboard the International Space Station. Astronaut Peggy Whitson once jokingly threatened to bar entry from a visiting — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

34

LOW GRAVITY GIVES YOU SPACE DIABETES. 10 ml NovoRapid Nordisk 100 j./ml Injekeni roztok HM Insulinum aspartum 100 m.j/ml Subkutanni, intravenozni podáni kci. THE WAY YOU HANDLE INSULIN GOES НА YWIRE. Even conventional diabetes treatments fall short. We do see some possible relief from a heart-friendly chemical called resveratrol, found in red wine. Unfortunately, though, NASA currently objects to astronauts drinking wine all day, for some reason. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

33

THIS RUSSIAN SOYUZ IS HOW WE REACH THE ISS. СОЮЗ IT WAS DESIGNED IN 1962. Yeah, space tech can be ancient. The Soyuz remained unchanged for decades. Its computer went digital only in 2010, and it uses buttons an operator must push with a stick. NASA are only now switching to an alternative: the Crew Dragon, made by SpaceX. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

32

SHUTTLES OF COURSE ALLOW NO BABIES. BUT LONG-TERM, HOW WOULD BABIES WORK? If we plan to travel long-term and also continue as a species, babies will be kind of a necessity. You can't make babies exercise the way adults do. How space radiation and other fun elements of interplanetary travel will mess with them is anyone's guess. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

31

STEERING WHILE IN ORBIT IS CRAZY HARD. ACCELERATE? THAT RAISES YOUR ORBIT. To lower your orbit, you now need negative force from your rockets. But since you're getting closer to Earth, and gravity's growing, your kinetic energy actually increases, so you're likely to accelerate again. Confused? You should be. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

30

Spines in Space

SPINAL DISKS CUSHION YOU AGAINST GRAVITY. IN SPACE, THESE BECOME USELESS. So your vertebrae drift and extend your spine. The good news: you get taller. The bad news: chronic back pain as a very nerve-dense part of your body suddenly stretches like an accordion. Oh, and the nerves themselves are also in danger of getting damaged. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

29

Astronauts' lives are very structured. Right down to mandatory recreation time. The crew on the Skylab 4 mission got so stressed-out and overextended by their 16-hour daily schedule that they went on strike. Since then, NASA has required downtime for its astronauts. CRACKED.COM https://libcom.org/history/1973-skylab-4-mutiny — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

28

Can't wait for the day when we can jump to light speed and watch the stars whiz by? It's never going to happen. NASA put together a demonstration of what it would look like to travel down the universe's longest street while approaching at lightspeed, and what basically happens is that all the light washes out of your surroundings and converges in front of you until it looks like you're trekking toward a bright dot on the horizon. So: Bright light, no lines. CRACKED.COM http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111018.html#2m36s — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

27

We might not agree on whether Pluto's a planet, but we all know it's blue, right? Wrong. It's brown. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft recently reached Pluto and took photos and measurements. Turns out it's reddish-brown, thanks to cosmic and sun rays screwing around with the methane on its surface and in its atmosphere. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/science/space/ CRACKED.COM nasa-new-horizans-spacecraft-reaches-pluto.html?_r=1 — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

26

You probably think of astronauts as the picture-of health. But the truth is, they're screwed if they get sick. Strike one: The immune system grows weaker in space. Strike two: Bacteria grows more quickly and becomes deadlier in space. Strike three: Medicines and vaccines lose potency in space. So if you get space salmonella, for example, you're going to spend a lot of time on the space toilet. CRACKED.COM http://www.livescience.com/35622-space-medicines-astronauts-health-potency.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

25

Isn't it graceful how everyone moves so slowly, in space? It's actually nothing at all like waltz music. Objects in zero gravity move faster than normal, if anything, because they don't have atmosphere and gravity slowing them down. If you see an actual astronaut moving slowly, it means he's being careful. If you see a sci-fi astronaut moving slowly, it means he's got space confused with the ocean. CRACKED.COM http://www.space.com/23406-enders-game-film-astronaut-greg-chamitoff.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

24

The Solar System

If we ever left the Solar System to explore strange new worlds, the Earth would be here waiting for us. Except that the solar system is constantly moving. We're essentially a missile that screams through space at 45,000 miles per hour, with the sun's constant solar wind bombardment pushing aside interstellar debris like a cowcatcher. CRACKED.COM http://solar-center.stanford.edu/FAQ/Qsolsysspeed.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

23

Ah, the beautiful, vast emptiness of space. Except around the Earth. That's filled with garbage. There are about 5,500 tons of space junk up above our heads right now, or about 600,000 objects larger than a centimeter. And only a tiny fraction of those are currently being tracked. They're not just floating around up there, either. They're whizzing along at 17,000 miles per hour. At that speed, a fleck of paint colliding with a medium-size spacecraft could disable it. CRACKED.COM http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/faqs.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

22

LET'S SAY SEX WERE ALLOWED IN SPACE. IT COULD STILL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Without gravity, blood moves to your upper body, messing with arousal for both men and women. Plus, flailing about naked and unrestrained would be very dangerous. You'd probably need special sex suits or to be bound to your partner with elastic. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

21

IN MOVIES, SHIPS TOUR COLORFUL NEBULAE. BUT SPACE IS ALMOST ENTIREL Y EMPTY. You'll generally be looking out at nothing. Even if you stare right at one of the few sights, it'll never look like the cool colorful photos from the Hubble telescope. NASA adds those colors to depict types of atoms detected by different filters. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

20

ROMANCE IS FORBIDDEN AMONG ASTRONAUTS. NASA SAYS COUPLES CAN'T SHARE A SHIP. The one exception was when the couple married right before launch, and it was too late to change plans. NASA knows the true power of love is its ability to make even brilliant people turn crazy. That simply can't be allowed to happen on a starship. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

19

BONES AND MUSCLES ATROPHY IN SPACE. РОСКОС RETURNING TO EARTH IS A HUGE ADJUSTMENT. You might be missing 8 percent of the bone across your hips, and that's even with all the exercise. You also have to readjust mentally. You'll try to float a pen or a water bottle over to someone and watch it clunk to the ground, because you've forgotten about gravity. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

18

ENGINE DIES ON EARTH? FRICTION STOPS YOU. IN SPACE? YOU KEEP MOVING, HELPLESS. Banking on a rescue? But any ship chasing you must first match your speed, and then go even faster to catch up. And don't count on sci-fi style escape pods. They'd have to be functioning space shuttles of their own and will probably never be practical to include. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

17

MEN MUST PEE USING A FUNNEL. WOMEN MUST PEE USING A CUP. Pee's converted into drinking water, because up there, every drop of liquid counts. The real trick is knowing when you need to go. When there's no gravity to push waste downward through you, your body becomes unreliable at giving you its regular cues. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

16

EVERY SPARE INCH IS USED FOR STORAGE. FUEL, FOOD, PARTS, MED SUPPLIES... Those are the systems whose sharp corners you will continually be banging against every time you make a sudden movement. Designers can't throw in extra head room just to make you comfortable. Every extra bit of ship is going to cost somebody millions. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

15

Weightlessness sure looks like fun. It is, until your body starts reabsorbing your bones. Prolonged weightlessness convinces the body that its bones are no longer needed, and it starts to break them down. Studies of cosmonauts and astronauts who spent many months on Mir revealed that space travelers lose an average of 1-2% of their bone mass each month. CRACKED.COM http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast01oct_1/ — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

14

Taking a dump in space isn't so bad, once you master the suction toilets. 100 L24 14 And figure out when you have to go. Gravity plays a surprisingly large role in telling your sphincter it's time to do some business. Without the weight pushing downward, your body doesn't know when your intestines are full. http://www.cracked.com/article_21369_ 6-ways-movies- CRACKED.COM get-space-wrong-by-astronaut-chris-hadfield.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

13

Black Holes

Don't go anywhere near a black hole. It'll Hoover you up like a dust bunny. Except they still have to obey the laws of physics. Black holes are not irresistible suck-monsters. Their magical vacuuming power is gravity, which can only be as powerful as its mass allows it to be. So, for example, a black hole the size of our sun would have the gravitational pull of our sun. It could hold our planets in orbit, but couldn't suck them in. CRACKED.COM http://imagine gsfc. nasa gov/ask_astro/black_holes.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

12

Comets

You might think you can tell which way a comet is headed, by its tail. You'd be wrong. A comet actually has two tails, and they both point away from the sun. And the comet's tails get longer, the closer it gets to the sun. CRACKED.COM http://asp.colorado.edu/education/outerplanets/kbos_comets.php — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

11

The Size of Space Ships

Sci-fi might have convinced you that space ships are, well, spacious. They're actually insanely cramped. In an actual space craft, every inch is devoted to storage - fuel, food, spare parts, medical supplies, machines to recycle your water and air, and so on. The reason? Cost. Just getting cargo into orbit on board the space shuttle cost $20,000 a pound. Add the personnel, and interplanetary flight will be less Star Trek and more Das Boot. CRACKED.COM http://usatoday30, usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-02-04-shuttle-critics_x.htm — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

10

If you went to the Moon, the most awesome part would be the dark side. Sorry, no. It doesn't exist. It's true that the moon has one side facing the Earth at any given time. Facing Earth, not the sun. The far side of the moon gets exactly the same amount of light as the near side, but at different times. And just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it's dark. CRACKED.COM http://www.wired.com/2007/11/no-dark-side-of/ — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

9

There's no water in space, and you're certainly in no danger from what little you bring with you. Except that you could drown. It nearly happened to Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. A leak in his space suit caused his helmet to fill with coolant water during a space walk. Without gravity, the water coated the front of his visor so he couldn't see. Не made his way back to the airlock by touch. CRACKED.COM http://www.businessinsider.com/luca-parmitano-describes-almost-drownding-in-space-2013-8 — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

8

You probably know that astronauts work out a lot. You might not know that they'll pass out, if they don't. In space, your heart gets smaller and weaker, and your blood pressure drops. Because of a phenomenon called orthostatic intolerance, you'll pass out. A lot. So astronauts have to spend 2.5 hours a day strapped to an exercise bike, a treadmill, or an ARED total gym. In a room with no fresh air. CRACKED.COM http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Your_Body_in_Space.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

7

Germs

IN SPACE, GERMS CHANGE WEIRDL Y. YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, MEANWHILE, CRUMBLES. Meds and vaccines also lose potency in space. Oh, you didn't want to go through quarantine? Congratulations! You're now sitting in the space toilet of your luxurious vessel, your weakened body torn apart by a ravenous strand of mutant salmonella. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

6

SPACE JETPACKS DON'T EXIST. THE CLOSEST THING WAS SCRAPPED. The one in Gravity is based on the Manned Maneuvering Unit, which dates back to 1984. Its tiny compressed nitrogen thrusters couldn't move you at anything beyond a crawl. Besides, shuttles can just park next to you, so NASA dropped the MMU. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

5

SPACE DOES HAVE THE INTERNET. BUT IT'S SUPER SLOW. The issue is distance. While the ISS itself is only around 250 miles away, signals must bounce through a network of satellites, traversing 22,000 miles. And of course, as we move into deeper space, accessing the net will become vastly harder. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

4

AN UNANTICIPATED THREAT SHOOK NASA IN THE 1960s. SPACE FARTS. Farts don't really go away in zero-G because there's no convection. Floating bubbles of turd-gas just hover like space mines. That's your future: Hordes of people spewing anal gases until the air turns brown. The inevitable purging fire will come as sweet relief. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

3

INTERSTELLAR DISTANCES ARE HUGE. EVEN AT LIGHT SPEED, TRIPS'LL TAKE YEARS. To everyone on Earth, your time will slow down the faster you go. So that decade-long round trip from your perspective could easily mean a lot more time will pass on Earth. You wouldn't just return in the future; you'd return in the distant future. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

2

RADIATION HITS YOUR RETINAS IN SPACE. THAT'S EVEN WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES. This tricks your brain into thinking you're seeing lights, which goes from inconvenient to inescapable. The constant radiation penetration also structurally damages the delicate tissues in your eyes, which may well lead to permanently messed-up sight. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

1

YOUR HEART WEAKENS IN SPACE. OVHD TIPO YOUR ONL Y REMEDY? CONSTANT EXERCISE. You have to exercise a good 2.5 hours a day, every day, as long as you're out there. You'll spend those hours strapped into one of the three exercise contraptions available, forever grinding in a tiny room that's filled with cables and presumably smells like jock straps. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Horrifying Sides Of Space Travel No One Talks About

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