ESA scientists study the possibility of human hibernation for deep space missions

A team of scientists is studying the possibility of Human Hibernation for deep space exploration missions. The ESA's (European Space Agency) SciSpacE team grouped at the Concurrent Design Facility to understand the basic concept of human hibernation for long deep space missions and also to understand how such a task would affect or influence the overall design of a space mission.

Human hibernation in deep space missions?

The fact that deep space exploration missions beyond the moon has been accomplished with the help of satellites and cameras, attempting human hibernation in space missions would be a difficult task. The Concurrent Design Facility's team looked into and extensively researched the impact of human hibernation on the space mission design. The CDF team took the Mars mission as their primary reference model wherein 6 human beings will be sent to Mars and back to Earth within a span of 5 years.

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They looked into how real-life crew hibernation would influence space design, using focused on some known advantages of hibernation of human beings for space travel by stating an example that a small space capsule could be used if the crew was hibernating in their long journey to Mars.

Focused on parameters of human safety and psychology

The team researched how to make the concept of human hibernation a reality keeping in mind the parameters of human safety and human psychology. In a statement, a representative of the CDF, Robin Biesbroek, stated that they were working on adjusting the build of the spacecraft according to their requirements, its protection against radiation, the amount of power it will consume and the complete design of the space mission.

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Team head of ESA's team, Jennifer Ngo-Anh, stated that if they are able to reduce an astronaut's metabolic rate by a total of 75% similar to that of hibernating bears, they could end up with a large amount of mass and cost savings, making long-duration missions a much more practical option.

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(With inputs from agencies)