564 people went to space, of which 65 were women. And this despite the fact that the first woman in space, the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, entered orbit in 1963.
It took Nasa 20 years to catch up, and in 1983, Sally Ryde became the third woman and the first American to go into space. Before her journey, the media asked her if she was doing any makeup during the trip and if she cried when there were malfunctions in the flight simulator.
On Friday, October 18, NASA held its first ever spacewalk consisting solely of women, after plans were canceled earlier this year due to a lack of medium-sized spacesuits suitable for one of the astronauts.
During the last decade, Dr. Varsha Jain worked part-time as a space gynecologist. She combines her doctoral work at the MRC Reproductive Health Center at the University of Edinburgh with research along with NASA on women's health in space.
She spoke with Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Does space affect men and women differently?
VJ: The overall adaptation to the space environment is about the same for men and women, but there are some differences.
Women are more likely to feel sick when they go into space, and men are more likely to get sick when they return to Earth.
Men have more vision and hearing problems when they return from space, which women do not have. When women return, they have problems controlling their blood pressure, so they feel rather weak.
Thus, there are some subtle differences, and we do not know whether this is due to hormonal differences or to the large number of physiological changes that occur. And in the long run, understanding these differences will help us better understand human health on Earth.
What about periods in space?
VJ: When the Americans sent Sally Ryde into space, Nasa had questions about what would happen to female periods and how we can explain this.
At that time, female astronauts said: "Let's see this as a problem until it becomes a problem." But space travel is a bit like camping trips, and engineers had to plan things like how much sanitary ware needed.
Since it was a world dominated by men, the numbers they thought were necessary were 100 or 200 tampons per week! Soon they came to the conclusion that many of them were not needed.
Most female astronauts currently use birth control pills to stop menstruating, and it is safe for them because they are healthy women.
One part of my work was to explore other ways for women to stop their periods in order to see if things like the birth control could be more effective.
Why are toilets in space sometimes a problem for women?
VJ: There are two toilets on the International Space Station, but the engineers initially didn't take blood into account.
In space, urine is not wasted, it is recycled and drinking water comes from it. Periodic blood is considered solid material, and none of the toilets on the space station can distinguish between solid matter and liquid material, so the water in it is lost and not reused.
There are also restrictions on the use of water for washing, so the practical aspects of personal hygiene during menstruation during space flight can be difficult.
Does space travel affect your ability to have children?
VJ: There is no obvious obvious effect that spaceflight has on the astronaut’s ability to have children. It is important to remember that astronauts, both men and women, successfully gave birth to children after space flights.
However, female cosmonauts are on average 38 years old during their first mission.
This is an area in which, it seems to me, NASA leads the way in creating a supportive work environment. Ultimately, freezing eggs or sperm is an entirely personal choice, and as far as I know, NASA has no protocols on what their astronauts should do before flying into space.
We know that astronauts are at risk of radiation in space, and we have no idea how this will affect the fertility of women.
Sperm quality and sperm count decline after space travel, but then the sperm regenerate back to Earth, so there are no known long-term damage. Women are born with all the eggs they need for life, so NASA is very supportive of astronauts who freeze their eggs before completing their tasks.
How did you become a space gynecologist?
VJ: My interest in space arose before I became interested in medicine. As a child, my brothers were passionate about Star Trek and saw strong female figures.
It took Nasa 20 years to catch up, and in 1983, Sally Ryde became the third woman and the first American to go into space. Before her journey, the media asked her if she was doing any makeup during the trip and if she cried when there were malfunctions in the flight simulator.
On Friday, October 18, NASA held its first ever spacewalk consisting solely of women, after plans were canceled earlier this year due to a lack of medium-sized spacesuits suitable for one of the astronauts.
During the last decade, Dr. Varsha Jain worked part-time as a space gynecologist. She combines her doctoral work at the MRC Reproductive Health Center at the University of Edinburgh with research along with NASA on women's health in space.
She spoke with Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Does space affect men and women differently?
VJ: The overall adaptation to the space environment is about the same for men and women, but there are some differences.
Women are more likely to feel sick when they go into space, and men are more likely to get sick when they return to Earth.
Men have more vision and hearing problems when they return from space, which women do not have. When women return, they have problems controlling their blood pressure, so they feel rather weak.
Thus, there are some subtle differences, and we do not know whether this is due to hormonal differences or to the large number of physiological changes that occur. And in the long run, understanding these differences will help us better understand human health on Earth.
What about periods in space?
VJ: When the Americans sent Sally Ryde into space, Nasa had questions about what would happen to female periods and how we can explain this.
At that time, female astronauts said: "Let's see this as a problem until it becomes a problem." But space travel is a bit like camping trips, and engineers had to plan things like how much sanitary ware needed.
Since it was a world dominated by men, the numbers they thought were necessary were 100 or 200 tampons per week! Soon they came to the conclusion that many of them were not needed.
Most female astronauts currently use birth control pills to stop menstruating, and it is safe for them because they are healthy women.
One part of my work was to explore other ways for women to stop their periods in order to see if things like the birth control could be more effective.
Why are toilets in space sometimes a problem for women?
VJ: There are two toilets on the International Space Station, but the engineers initially didn't take blood into account.
In space, urine is not wasted, it is recycled and drinking water comes from it. Periodic blood is considered solid material, and none of the toilets on the space station can distinguish between solid matter and liquid material, so the water in it is lost and not reused.
There are also restrictions on the use of water for washing, so the practical aspects of personal hygiene during menstruation during space flight can be difficult.
Does space travel affect your ability to have children?
VJ: There is no obvious obvious effect that spaceflight has on the astronaut’s ability to have children. It is important to remember that astronauts, both men and women, successfully gave birth to children after space flights.
However, female cosmonauts are on average 38 years old during their first mission.
This is an area in which, it seems to me, NASA leads the way in creating a supportive work environment. Ultimately, freezing eggs or sperm is an entirely personal choice, and as far as I know, NASA has no protocols on what their astronauts should do before flying into space.
We know that astronauts are at risk of radiation in space, and we have no idea how this will affect the fertility of women.
Sperm quality and sperm count decline after space travel, but then the sperm regenerate back to Earth, so there are no known long-term damage. Women are born with all the eggs they need for life, so NASA is very supportive of astronauts who freeze their eggs before completing their tasks.
How did you become a space gynecologist?
VJ: My interest in space arose before I became interested in medicine. As a child, my brothers were passionate about Star Trek and saw strong female figures.
0 Comments