As NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returns home after 371 days spent in space, an expert discusses the physical and psychological changes to the human body in space.
" in August that he will be examined by a medical team upon his arrival and he may need some time to readapt to Earth's gravity and rebalance his equilibrium for everyday tasks such as walking and standing upright.
Dr. Jennifer Fogarty, chief scientific officer at Baylor College of Medicine's Translational Research Institute for Space Health, told ABC News that the biggest changes with bone and muscles loss occur in the first couple of months of a mission and then level off.
Our veins have valves in them so blood doesn't flow backwards when we stand up, but when we're in a weightless environment, there's a big fluid shift from the body up into the head," explained Dr. Michael Decker, co-director of the Center for Aerospace Physiology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "Some of this increased intracranial pressure can actually impact the eye and lead to visual impairment.
Fogarty said that there are also changes to the immune system during this time, often a result of chronic stress, which is why it's important to create as healthy of an environment as possible for astronauts going on missions.
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