The new crew of the ISS will test goggles, which in the future can be used to maintain vision during long flights.

Perhaps people have already been born who are the first to step on the surface of Mars. Since a man’s flight to the Red Planet is becoming more and more realistic, we must consider every detail, any situation in which something can go wrong during a long journey to Mars and back to Earth, writes extremetech . For example, what if the people sent to Mars at the time of arrival lose their sight and cannot see anything? Agree, it would be a huge problem.

We have already learned about a number of negative effects arising from a long stay in conditions of weightlessness. For example, cosmonauts on the ISS need to train daily to maintain muscle mass and bone density, which in space quickly atrophy and become fragile. This problem is quite simple to solve, but the detrimental effect of the conditions of stay in space on vision is much more unpleasant.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) recently received funding from three companies as part of the development of its manned mission to Mars program. New development can help maintain visual acuity during long space missions. It combines three technologies: an ophthalmoscope with a redina display, glasses for pressure control and interchangeable lenses that can be easily selected according to the vision. Testing of the entire kit will begin with the new crew of the ISS in the coming months.
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For decades, NASA has been aware of the fact that under microgravity, the eye changes its shape slightly, which can lead to visual impairment. However, only in recent years it has become obvious that this problem is neither temporary nor easy in terms of solving it. All members of the crews of the ISS undergo a medical commission after returning to the ground. Some astronauts revealed a real (measurable) visual impairment. Scientists believe that the reason for this lies in the increase in intracranial pressure under conditions of orbital microgravity, because the fluid in the spinal pools on the earth is attracted downwards. It is unlikely that something other than creating artificial gravity can eliminate this problem, but scientists may try to create technology that partially compensates for the damage to vision during their time in space.

Ophthalmoscope was developed by Annidis Inc. and can obtain a retinal image with sufficient sharpness without invasive procedures. This is the main tool in studying and tracking the effects of weightlessness on the anatomy of the eye. The glasses are designed to control and stabilize eye pressure and can compensate for damage caused by increased intracranial pressure. When vision deteriorates during a long flight, for example, to Mars, the glasses can be adjusted.

The technological solutions described will be tested by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko during their annual mission on the ISS . Their long stay at the station will be used, among other things, to evaluate not only the general effects of a long-term stay in space on the human body (previously the crew’s stay on the ISS did not exceed 6 months), but also the effect of microgravity on vision.