The Great Gnome Press Science Fiction Odyssey

Space Medicine In this installment, Dr Heinz Haber discusses the budding science of space medicine and the issues it must address in relation to space travel and exploration.  The problems of air supply and heat exchange are touched upon as are the hazards of high energy particles.  But the major portion of the chapter goes towards addressing the issue of weightlessness.  This was written before man had gone into space, or even experienced zero-g for longer than a few seconds.  The issue is discussed in the areas of physiology, body movement and orientation, and resulting nausea.  As an aside, I have almost completed Ben Bova’s Grand Tour on audio book.  On many occasions throughout the series he talks about the (now well established) effects of zero-g on people new to the experience.  Dr. Haber seems quite on the money with his descriptions of the likely effects of the experience.  So here we are, Space Medicine:

You can see Dr. Haber in action in a well known Disney documentary from 1957, ‘Our Friend the Atom’ on Youtube.  Recommended viewing, and a great piece of nostalgia. Next up on the 15th of May, Dr. Donald Howard Menzel then Acting Director of Harvard College Observatory, informs us about the requirements of Space Suits.

This entry was posted on April 30, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under 03 - Space Medicine, 1953, The Complete Book of Outer Space with tags Jeffrey Logan, The Complete Book of Outer Space. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.