Counter Measures

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Dr. Varsha Jain is in front of a Orion crew module at Nasa's Johnson Space Center

Some 564 people were room in the world - 65 of them are women. This is despite the fact that The First woman in Space , Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit as early as 1963.

It took Nasa 20 years to go to catch up and Sally Ride in 1983, was the third woman and first American Woman in Space . Before her trip she was asked, by the media, if you have any make-up on your trip and if you cried, if there are disturbances in The Flight simulator.

On Friday, 18. In October, Nasa led to his first all-female Space walk,

For The Last ten years, Dr. Varsha Jain is working-time as the Space of the woman doctor. She combines her doctoral work at the MRC centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh with research in addition to Nasa in the health of the women in the room.

she speaks to Emma Barnett on

Six of Nasa's first female astronauts in January 1978, Sally Ride is the second from The Right is in Space affect men and women differently?

VJ: a Total adaptation to the Space environment is roughly the same for men and women, but there are some differences.

women are more likely to feel sick if you go in the room, men are more likely to be a re-entry disease, if you come back to Earth .

men have more problems with their vision and hearing, when you back out of the room, the women. When women return, you will have problems with the management of your blood pressure, so you will feel very weak.

there are some subtle differences, and we don't know whether to do with hormonal differences or more physiological changes occur. And in the long term, the understanding of these differences will help us understand more about human health on Earth .

Jessica Meir (L) and Christina Koch led The First all-female Space walk on 18 October, What about periods of time in Space ?

VJ: When The Americans sent Sally Ride into Space , The Questions that Nasa had were about what would happen to women's periods and how we can account for this.

Female astronauts at the time said, 'we consider it a problem until it a problem". But the Space is a bit of a camping trip and had to plan the engineers, things like, how many hygiene articles are needed.

Because it was a very male-dominated world, the characters that you thought you needed, were 100 or 200 tampons for a week! You came to the conclusion that, that many were not necessary.

the Majority of female astronauts now on the pill to stop your period and it is safe for you to do, because they are healthy women.

One of the parts of my work was the exploration of other ways for women to stop their period to see if things like the spiral could be more effective.

The toilet in The International Space station's Tranquility module, Why are the toilets in the room is sometimes a challenge for women?

VJ: There are two toilets on The International Space station, but the engineers had not originally accounted for in the blood.

In the room, the urine will not be wasted, it is recycled and Drinking Water is reclaimed from it. Period blood is a solid material, and none of the toilets can be distinguished on the Space station solid from the liquid material, so the water is lost and not recycled.

There are also limitations on how water can be used for washing, so that the practical aspects of personal hygiene during Menstruation, which can be during Space travel a challenge.

US astronaut Sally Ride aboard the seventh shuttle mission, Valentina Tereshkova , The First woman to fly in Space in 1963, the Space Has an impact on your ability to have children?

VJ: There seems to be no demonstrable effect that goes in the room, has a astronaut the ability to have children. It is important to remember that both male and female astronauts have successfully had children after Space missions.

But female astronauts, on average, 38 years old, during their first mission.

This is an area where I think Nasa is the way in a supportive work environment. Ultimately, the freezing of ova or sperm is completely a personal decision and, as far as I Am aware, has Nasa not all of the protocols, what your astronauts should missions before the Space .

We know that The Astronauts are in danger of radiation in Space , and we have no idea how this will impact on women's fertility.

the quality of The sperm and the sperm count drops, after the Space , but then gets regenerated back to the Earth , so there are no known long-term damage. Women are born with all the eggs you need for your life time, so Nasa is very supportive of female astronauts to freeze their eggs before their missions.

As you have become a Space woman doctor?

VJ: My interest in Space travel came from my fascination for medicine. As a child, my brothers both in Star Trek were and to see strong female characters like Beverly Crusher and Captain Kathryn Janeway has me incredibly inspired and shaped my goals.

I knew that I wanted to work in the field of Space medicine, and because I practice gynecology at the time I found a large knowledge gap in relation to women ' s health, that I thought deserves a platform.

My first day at Nasa, I was like A Kid in a candy store. Travel to the Nasa Johnson Space Center, the First Time I saw the sign I remember screaming because I was so excited. Every day I remember Waking Up at 05:00 because I just couldn't wait to.

Would you go into Space yourself?

VJ: Not for a long-duration mission! I know too much about the physiological changes and the brings me.

the changes that happen to the human body are like a speeded-up aging process. If the bone changes, The Astronauts lose bone mass when you walk in the room and that the parts of the bone mass are never to return, despite the excellent policies and programmes that have The Astronauts when they get back.

Obviously, I would like to see what the Earth looks like from Space , but in the long term as a goal, I think, I know, I'm doing my Dream Job already.

Dr. Varsha Jain was one of The First academic physicians focus on the study of women's health in relation to the room. She is currently the 2019 wellbeing of women Research Training Fellow at the MRC centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh. explores why women bleeding severe.

Emma Barnett show on BBC Radio 5 BST Live Monday - Thursday 10:00 - 13:00.

astronauts, international space station, space exploration, nasa

Source of news: bbc.com