NASA’s new sleeping bags could prevent the ‘breeding’ of the eye on the ISS

Being in space is required good vision 20/20, but unfortunately, the effects of space can cause astronauts to return to Earth with blurred vision. Now, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a sleeping bag that can prevent or reduce stress by absorbing fluid directly into astronauts’ heads.

More than half of NASA astronomers who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) for more than six months have detected various vision problems. At one point, astronomer John Philips returned from six ISS-related months in 2005 and his vision was reduced from 20/20 to 20/100, as BBC reports.

For long-distance flights to Mars, for example, this could be a problem. “It would be dangerous if the astronauts had a serious problem so they could not see what they were doing and disrupt the work,” lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Levine told the newspaper. BBC.

Water can accumulate in the head during sleep, but on Earth, gravity pulls them into the body when you wake up. However, in a space of limited gravity, more than half a gallon of water accumulates in the head. This also applies to compression of the eye, which causes blurring that can lead to eye damage – a conditionflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, or SANS. (Dr. Levine found SANS by removing cancer patients from zero-G-like airplanes. They still had ports in their heads to receive medical treatment, which gave researchers a place to go to test for stress in their brains.)

To address the SANS, researchers have teamed up with external REI equipment manufacturers to design a sleeping bag that fits at the waist, with a lower body lock. A vacuum cleaner then operates which draws water to the feet, so as not to overgrow the head.

About a dozen people volunteered to test the technology, and the results were positive. Some questions need to be answered before NASA can bring technology into the ISS, including the exact time that astronomers should spend in a daily sleeping bag. They also need to know if each astronaut is using one, or who is at risk of having SANS.

However, Drs. Levine hopes SANS will no longer be a problem as NASA prepares for Mars. “Perhaps this is one of the medical problems of the past decade,” he said in a statement.