thoughtsignals

Are you dreaming of a vacation in space? This doesn’t sound so fun:

For starters, any prolonged flight outside the atmosphere risks exposure of cells to sickening levels of radiation. The skin of a spaceship is not much safer. Space is littered with lithic debris, and a collision with a particle no bigger than a pebble could well be catastrophic. (Pockmarks from thousands of tiny impacts slowed the orbit of the Salyut 7 space station so much that it fell from the sky.) A state of microgravity for years will also take its toll on physical and psychic health. Between 3 and 13 percent of personnel on any space mission are likely to show signs of mental illness from claustrophobia, homesickness, chronic boredom and inactivity. The bacteria that causes tooth decay may grow faster in outer space, where dentists are scarce. Food will taste worse and be harder to digest.

Link.