Jesse Rhoades, University of North Dakota and Rebecca Rhoades, University of North Dakota Humans will likely set foot on the Moon again in the coming decade. While many stories in this new chapter of lunar exploration will be reminiscent of the Apollo missions 50 years ago, others may look quite different. For instance, the European Space Agency is currently working to make space travel more accessible for people of a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. In this new era, the first footprint on the Moon could possibly be made by a prosthetic limb.

Historically, and even still today, astronauts selected to fly to space have had to fit a long list of physical requirements. However, many professionals in the field are beginning to acknowledge that these requirements stem from outdated assumptions. Some research, including studies by our multidisciplinary team of aerospace and biomechanics researchers, has begun to explore the possibilities for people with physical disabilities to venture into space, visit the Moon and eventually travel to Mars.

Current research

NASA has previously funded and is currently funding research on restraints and mobility aids to help everyone, regardless of their ability, move around in the crew cabin. Additionally, NASA has research programs to develop functional aids for individuals with disabilities in current U.S. spacecraft. A functional aid is any device that improves someone’s independence, mobility or daily living tasks by compensating for their physical limitations. The European Space Agency, or ESA, launched its Parastronaut Feasibility Project in 2022 to assess ways to include individuals with disabilities in human spaceflight. A parastronaut is an astronaut with a physical disability who has been selected and trained to participate in space missions. At the University of North Dakota, we conducted one of the first studies focused on parastronauts. This research examined how individuals with disabilities get into and get out of two current U.S. spacecraft designed to carry crew. The first was NASA’s Orion capsule, designed by Lockheed Martin, and the second was Boeing’s CST 100 Starliner. Alongside our colleagues Pablo De León, Keith Crisman, Komal Mangle and Kavya Manyapu, we uncovered valuable insights into the accessibility challenges future parastronauts may face. Our research indicated that individuals with physical disabilities are nearly as nimble in modern U.S. spacecraft as nondisabled individuals. This work focused on testing individuals who have experienced leg amputations. Now we are looking ahead to solutions that could benefit astronauts of all abilities.

Safety and inclusion

John McFall is the ESA’s first parastronaut. At the age of 19, Mcfall lost his right leg just above the knee from a motorcycle accident. Although McFall has not been assigned to a mission yet, he is the first person with a physical disability to be medically certified for an ISS mission.

Astronaut selection criteria currently prioritize peak physical fitness, with the goal of having multiple crew members who can do the same physical tasks. Integrating parastronauts into the crew has required balancing mission security and accessibility. However, with advancements in technology, spacecraft design and assistive tools, inclusion no longer needs to come at the expense of safety. These technologies are still in their infancy, but research and efforts like the ESA’s program will help improve them. Design and development of spacecraft can cost billions of dollars. Simple adaptations, such as adding handholds onto the walls in a spacecraft, can provide vital assistance. However, adding handles to existing spacecraft will be costly. Functional aids that don’t alter the spacecraft itself – such as accessories carried by each astronaut – could be another way forward. For example, adding Velcro to certain spots in the spacecraft or on prosthetic limbs could improve a parastronaut’s traction and help them anchor to the spacecraft’s surfaces. Engineers could design new prosthetics made for particular space environments, such as zero or partial gravity, or even tailored to specific spacecraft. This approach is kind of like designing specialized prosthetics for rock climbing, running or other sports.

Accessibility can help everyone

Future space exploration, particularly missions to the Moon and Mars that will take weeks, months and even years, may prompt new standards for astronaut fitness. During these long missions, astronauts could get injured, causing what can be considered incidental disability. An astronaut with an incidental disability begins a mission without a recognized disability but acquires one from a mission mishap. An astronaut suffering a broken arm or a traumatic brain injury during a mission would have a persistent impairment.

During long-duration missions, an astronaut crew will be too far away to receive outside medical help – they’ll have to deal with these issues on their own. Considering disability during mission planning goes beyond inclusion. It makes the mission safer for all astronauts by preparing them for anything that could go wrong. Any astronaut could suffer an incidental disability during their journey. Safety and inclusion in spaceflight don’t need to be at odds. Instead, agencies can reengineer systems and training processes to ensure that more people can safely participate in space missions. By addressing safety concerns through technology, innovative design and mission planning, the space industry can have inclusive and successful missions. Jesse Rhoades, Professor of Education, Heath & Behavior, University of North Dakota and Rebecca Rhoades, Researcher in Education, Health & Behavior, University of North Dakota This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Maria Chikina, University of Pittsburgh Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

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Why don’t humans have hair all over their bodies like other animals? – Murilo, age 5, Brazil

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Have you ever wondered why you don’t have thick hair covering your whole body like a dog, cat or gorilla does? Humans aren’t the only mammals with sparse hair. Elephants, rhinos and naked mole rats also have very little hair. It’s true for some marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, too. Scientists think the earliest mammals, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs, were quite hairy. But over hundreds of millions of years, a small handful of mammals, including humans, evolved to have less hair. What’s the advantage of not growing your own fur coat? I’m a biologist who studies the genes that control hairiness in mammals. Why humans and a small number of other mammals are relatively hairless is an interesting question. It all comes down to whether certain genes are turned on or off.

Hair benefits

Hair and fur have many important jobs. They keep animals warm, protect their skin from the sun and injuries and help them blend into their surroundings. They even assist animals in sensing their environment. Ever felt a tickle when something almost touches you? That’s your hair helping you detect things nearby. Humans do have hair all over their bodies, but it is generally sparser and finer than that of our hairier relatives. A notable exception is the hair on our heads, which likely serves to protect the scalp from the sun. In human adults, the thicker hair that develops under the arms and between the legs likely reduces skin friction and aids in cooling by dispersing sweat. So hair can be pretty beneficial. There must have been a strong evolutionary reason for people to lose so much of it.

Why humans lost their hair

The story begins about 7 million years ago, when humans and chimpanzees took different evolutionary paths. Although scientists can’t be sure why humans became less hairy, we have some strong theories that involve sweat. Humans have far more sweat glands than chimps and other mammals do. Sweating keeps you cool. As sweat evaporates from your skin, heat energy is carried away from your body. This cooling system was likely crucial for early human ancestors, who lived in the hot African savanna. Of course, there are plenty of mammals living in hot climates right now that are covered with fur. Early humans were able to hunt those kinds of animals by tiring them out over long chases in the heat – a strategy known as persistence hunting. Humans didn’t need to be faster than the animals they hunted. They just needed to keep going until their prey got too hot and tired to flee. Being able to sweat a lot, without a thick coat of hair, made this endurance possible.

Genes that control hairiness

To better understand hairiness in mammals, my research team compared the genetic information of 62 different mammals, from humans to armadillos to dogs and squirrels. By lining up the DNA of all these different species, we were able to zero in on the genes linked to keeping or losing body hair. Among the many discoveries we made, we learned humans still carry all the genes needed for a full coat of hair – they are just muted or switched off. In the story of “Beauty and the Beast,” the Beast is covered in thick fur, which might seem like pure fantasy. But in real life some rare conditions can cause people to grow a lot of hair all over their bodies. This condition, called hypertrichosis, is very unusual and has been called “werewolf syndrome” because of how people who have it look.

In the 1500s, a Spanish man named Petrus Gonsalvus was born with hypertrichosis. As a child he was sent in an iron cage like an animal to Henry II of France as a gift. It wasn’t long before the king realized Petrus was like any other person and could be educated. In time, he married a lady, forming the inspiration for the “Beauty and the Beast” story. While you will probably never meet someone with this rare trait, it shows how genes can lead to unique and surprising changes in hair growth.

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Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best. Maria Chikina, Assistant Professor of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.