Challenge: Space Problems
Gravity
The gravity on Enceladus is only 0.113 m/s², which is an incredible 9.694 m/s² lighter than earth’s gravity. These numbers might be confusing, but what it means is that there is very little and almost no gravity on Enceladus. This is a big problem as humans need gravity to not drift off into space, to not let other things drift off into space (eg food and water), to maintain a good blood level and to keep healthy bones.
Walking
To stay connected to Enceladus’s surface, we would need to either stay connected to the space craft (which would have to be connected to Enceladus), or stay connected to the actual planet surface. This would be tricky, as most of Enceladus is covered in ice. So that you are not disconnected from the space craft, there will be a one kilometre cord that attaches the back of you space suit to the space shuttle. The space shuttle will have 9 super strong bungee cords that will travel from underneath it to way down under the ice, safely securing it and you to the planet. Don't worry, if you go exploring there are handles in the ice for you to grab onto so you do not float one kilometre up, but instead stay on the ground. Blood
Blood feels gravity, too. On Earth, blood gathers in the feet but in space, with no gravity pulling your blood down, blood pressure equalises and becomes about 100 mmHg throughout the body. That's why astronauts can look odd: their faces, filled with fluid, puff up, and their legs, which can lose about a litre of fluid each, thin out. But that shift in blood pressure also sends a signal as the higher blood pressure in the head raises an alarm: The body has too much blood! And within two to three days of weightlessness, astronauts can lose as much as 22 percent of their blood volume as a result. This change affects the heart, too. , because if you have less blood, then your heart doesn't need to pump as hard. It's going to atrophy." You would only be in space for a very short amount of time, so losing blood should not worry you. If you are worrying, then don't, because all the exercise will help you regain your some of your blood, by pumping it around the body and making the heart work hard. |
Muscles
Gravity is not just a force, it's also a signal that tells the muscles and bones in your body how strong they must be. In zero-gravity, muscles atrophy quickly, because the body perceives it does not need them. The muscles used to fight gravity, like those in the calves and spine, can lose around 20 per cent of their mass if you don't use them. Muscle mass can vanish at a rate as high as 5% a week. Losing your muscles will not be a big problem, as you would only be going up to space for 24 hours. Just to be safe, there are three quality exercise machines aboard the space craft, so that your muscles will not be too weak when you get back to earth. These are called the TVIS (Treadmill), the CVIS, (stationary bicycle), and the ARED (weightlifter). TO maintain healthy bones, you need to exercise o these machines for two and a half hours each day. Food and Excretions
In space, where do your excretions go? If you pee or poop into a normal toilet, it will fly right back up and float around. This is really unhygienic and can cause many health problems. For space astronauts, there are specially designed suction toilets that will take care of that. It is just like a normal toilet, but so that your excretions don't fly away, there is a suction. Eating food in space is not such of a big problems because the astronauts can grab the substance they're eating and pull it towards them, but with water, it gets tricky.To swallow water, you will need to suck it out of a straw from a water bottle. |
Temperature
Enceladus reflects almost 100% of the sunlight it receives. This high reflectivity is caused by a very smooth surface of fresh water ice. Since Enceladus reflects so much of the sunlight it receives, its surface temperature is a chilling -201° C. But, scientific discoveries have shown that in the south pole, there is a large fresh water lake that run a couple of kilometers beneath the surface. This causes tiger stripes to run along the surface of this area, and every second, they shoots up geysers that contain a few hundred pounds of liquid water and other chemicals out into Saturn's E-ring. As a result of this, the south pole is a shocking 137°C warmer, making the temperature only -64°C. This temperature is not to hard to deal with, as the coldest natural temperature ever recorded on the ground level of Earth is −89.2 °C. To survive, the astronauts will need to wear lots of wooly clothes and ski gear, and stay in heated rooms!
Atomsphere
Enceladus has joined the small but select band of moons known to have an atmosphere. The Cassini spacecraft, currently orbiting Saturn, has found a layer of water vapour surrounding the icy moon, which is likely to be coming from its surface or interior. The geysers spray all the liquid and ice water into space and it becomes an atmosphere. Because of the lack of Gravity, it doesn't stay there very long, but is replenishes with more water each second. The atmosphere is made up of 6 different aspects;water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, simple organics and complex organics. Because of the very light and watery atmosphere, you cannot breathe on Enceladus.
Astronauts will be provided with big oxygen tanks and the space ship and space shelter will have air ventilation. The oxygen tanks will be attached to the space suit so that when traveling on the planet astronauts will be provided with oxygen.
Space suits cannot use normal air -- 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other gases -- because the low pressure would cause dangerously low oxygen concentrations in the lungs an blood, much like climbing Mt. Everest does. So, most space suits provide a pure oxygen atmosphere for breathing. Space suits get the oxygen either from a spacecraft via an umbilical cord or from a backpack life support system that the astronaut wears.
Both the shuttle and the International Space Station have normal air mixtures that mimic our atmosphere. Therefore, to go into a pure oxygen space suit, a spacewalking astronaut must "pre-breathe" pure oxygen for some period of time before suiting up. This pre-breathing of pure oxygen eliminates the nitrogen from the astronaut's blood and tissues, thereby minimising the risk of the bends.
Astronauts will be provided with big oxygen tanks and the space ship and space shelter will have air ventilation. The oxygen tanks will be attached to the space suit so that when traveling on the planet astronauts will be provided with oxygen.
Space suits cannot use normal air -- 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other gases -- because the low pressure would cause dangerously low oxygen concentrations in the lungs an blood, much like climbing Mt. Everest does. So, most space suits provide a pure oxygen atmosphere for breathing. Space suits get the oxygen either from a spacecraft via an umbilical cord or from a backpack life support system that the astronaut wears.
Both the shuttle and the International Space Station have normal air mixtures that mimic our atmosphere. Therefore, to go into a pure oxygen space suit, a spacewalking astronaut must "pre-breathe" pure oxygen for some period of time before suiting up. This pre-breathing of pure oxygen eliminates the nitrogen from the astronaut's blood and tissues, thereby minimising the risk of the bends.
Eclipses
Because the contrast in size between Enceladus and Saturn is bigger than Earth and the moon, then Enceladus will probably experience longer eclipses than earth. Saturn has 62 moons and lots of comets and large masses in its ring, so Enceladus experiences a lot more eclipses than us.
In shadow of Saturn or other moons, Enceladus can still be illuminated by sunlight reflected first off the rings and then onto the nightside of the planet. The sunlight reflected off Titan, Dione, and Rhea, some of Saturn's other moons could also illuminate Enceladus while in an eclipse. So even when Enceladus is experiencing an eclipse, the sunlight from other moons and Saturn's rings illuminates some of it.
In shadow of Saturn or other moons, Enceladus can still be illuminated by sunlight reflected first off the rings and then onto the nightside of the planet. The sunlight reflected off Titan, Dione, and Rhea, some of Saturn's other moons could also illuminate Enceladus while in an eclipse. So even when Enceladus is experiencing an eclipse, the sunlight from other moons and Saturn's rings illuminates some of it.
Space Problems By: Katherine G