Could healthy gut microbes assist humans during long space travel?

By Prince Mathew

While cutting edge technology is redefining innovative ways to bring change and ease of life to mankind, dreams are being built upon theories and statistics. What we really need to ponder and find a solution for, is whether the human body is ready to bear the brunt of the force.

While space is being the next destination for mankind to explore, it is easy to get carried away on the idea of building hopes from a Sci-fi movie or book. The harsh reality is that not all of us are truly ready for that life-changing trip into deep space or up for the challenges of space travel.

It is definitely possible through conditioning and training for a younger population, with a strong immune system and a genetic background with no pre-existing medical conditions. Consider this, there are many amongst us that fall prey to sea travel, air travel or even long-distance travel in closed quarters. If a ship at sea, an aeroplane in the air or a bus on the high road can cause such disturbances to the human body, imagine the consequences of months of space travel?

While Star Trek series or CGI animations can show us spaceships with large, spacious, well-decorated cabins and halls inside a spaceship that is created from a software programming, the fact of the matter is that you might have to be prepared to encounter cramped spaces for future space travels.

There is research on how gut microbes can promote safer space travel for humans in a harsh environment. The microgravity environment can cause poor digestion, slower body metabolism, rapid muscle breakdown, and reduced bone mass. So, keeping the technology aside. We need to look for solutions that can make our body resilient to endure long space travel.

"Changes in the microbiome are likely to lead to the breakdown of the balanced and complex relationship between microbes and their human host, with potentially severe repercussions on the functionality of body systems," said Professor Silvia Turroni from the University of Bologna.

The open-accessible journal - Frontiers in Physiology, discussed a variety of studies suggesting that disruptions in the gut microbiome inside Space travellers occurred during space travel. Thereby, shedding light into precautions and remedies we might need to prepare for in future space missions.

There are studies that found that the microbiomes of space travellers on the same mission became more similar to each other during the journey. There was also an increase in bacteria associated with intestinal inflammation and a decrease in those with anti-inflammatory properties.

Manipulating the gut microbiome may be a powerful way of keeping space travellers healthy onboard a spacecraft travelling a long space journey. Microbial treatments as simple as nutritionally balanced meals, with lots of fibre to kickstart microbial metabolism in the gut, and exercise to increase metabolism will be some of the key factors that will assist us well into the future of space travel for all humanity.

"The well-being of the gut microbiome of space travellers should be among the primary goals of long-duration exploratory missions," said Professor Martina Heer of the University of Bonn.

Future missions to Mars and beyond will become a huge challenge for space travellers. This review reminds us all that it may be, our homegrown microbes that will truly give us a fighting chance to get us there. No one knows for sure what the future holds. We could have better scientific breakthroughs that could boost our chances. One thing is for sure. Nothing can stop humanity from reaching towards the stars. If we can dream it, we sure can live it.

Reference

1. Tribune India News Service. 2020. Healthy Gut Microbes Key For Space Travellers To Reach Mars. [online] Available at: <https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/healthy-gut-microbes-key-for-space-travellers-to-reach-mars-138173> [Accessed 9 September 2020].