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Do you realize
that the gravity on mars is 0.37 times earth's, and therefore, when te
person returns from Mars, they will be extremely weak compared to people
who stayed on earth?
Dec. 19,2001
Gravity affects mainly three organs in the body: the bones, the muscles, and
the heart. I am a medical doctor, so I think I can say this with a certain
degree of confidence. However, it is not gravity as such which affects
these organs but, rather, the stress placed on them by gravity. Our body has
to lift its own weight against the pull of gravity and the body
responds to this stress by strengthening these three organs. However,
there are other ways to stress or exercise these organs other than by
lifting the body's weight. Lifting external heavy weights (weight lifting or
body building) will exercise and strengthen the muscles and bones, and
performing aerobic exercise will exercise the heart. If a person can lift
a weight on Mars which would weigh 526 pounds on Earth he would be able to
lift 200 pounds when he returns to Earth. During the trip to Mars, when the
crew will be weightless, exercising against springs will take the
place of weightlifting. Therefore, heavy exercise will keep the crew strong
enough to resume normal activities on Earth and prevent permanent damage to
body organs. Nevertheless, there will come a point when people will not
necessarily want to return to Earth. At that time this issue will be a
moot point.
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