Astronauts could be put into hibernation to travel to Mars
Astronauts could be put into hibernation to travel to Mars, European Space Agency scientists have revealed, as they call for further research on its impact on the brain.
Being cooped up in a confined spacecraft for a long period of time could take its toll on their physical and mental health, according to Prof Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, who is leading the research.
He said these "huge implications" could be mitigated if astronauts were put into a "state of stasis", and said further investigation is needed to establish what effect this might have on their brains.
"Hibernation is a fascinating biological phenomenon. Sometimes it is confused with sleep because when an animal is hibernating it looks like it is sleeping, but it's a fundamentally different state," said Prof Vyazovskiy, an associate professor of neuroscience at Oxford University.
"Imagine you had to take a very long-haul flight to Mars, for example, and how much fuel, water supply, air you'd need to take along. If you were awake all the time, there are also huge implications for mental health, spending so much time in a highly confined environment - so it would be really advantageous to put the astronauts in a state of stasis.
"A lot of research on hibernation has focussed on the body because it is a physiological state and biochemical processes in the body are slowed down, but very little has looked into what happens to the brain in this state. The brain could experience something similar to anesthesia or a sleep-like or comatose state, but we need more research to know what it means to be in this state."
Hibernation is an extended period of physical inactivity often lasting months, during which physiological functions such as metabolic and respiratory rate slow down significantly and the body temperature drops.
In contrast, sleep is a gentle resting state lasting hours rather than months, during which these physiological functions do not change to such a great extent.
"Hibernation is a widespread phenomenon and many animals hibernate," said Prof Vyazovskiy.
We know that some primates are able to. So I can't think what is special about humans that means they can't hibernate. We just need to find the secret.
"We can produce an artificial state of hibernation by administering drugs, but I don't think this is the most promising approach. We should learn from other animal species and how they trigger that process spontaneously - they know the trick but we have lost it for reasons we don't know yet."
