Nasa could use a strange sleeping bag to stop astronauts disastrously losing their sight during missions.
Journeys in space are hard on the eyes. Astronauts are hit by vision problems when fluids float into their head and squash the eyeball, pushing at it and reshaping it.
That could be even worse when astronauts take longer flights than those humanity has conducted already. “It would be a disaster if astronauts had such severe impairments that they couldn’t see what they’re doing and it compromised the mission,” said Benjamin Levine, who is working with Nasa to address the problem.
It remains one of the biggest problems with space travel, and a major fear for humans who might undertake long journeys further into space. Scientists have been grappling with it for more than a decade.
It has already caused problem for astronauts who have visited the International Space Station. Of those who have spent at least six months on the floating lab, more than half experienced eye problems – finding themselves far sighted, having trouble reading, or even being forced to ask colleagues…
