Long way is very exhausting and tiresome. It is precisely such a challenge that astronauts have to deal with when discussing traveling to other planets like Mars or further. There is a solution to this problem, which scientists and researchers have long been looking at. That is referred to as cryosleep. Then just what is cryosleep and can it really assist humans to travel through the empty emptiness of space?
In simple terms, cryosleep is a state of deep sleep that is administered to a living person to make him or her asleep. In this condition, the body functions are virtually stagnated. Its heart has hardly beated, its brain has slowed down to minimum, and the person does not get as old as the usual way. It is almost as though it were a stop button on a human body. It is assumed that in case astronauts can be put in such kind of slumber during a long ride into space, they will require less food, water and oxygen. Nor will they experience boredom, and mental agony, which would have been attendant upon being confined several years at a time, in a tiny space-ship. Upon arrival into their destination, they will be awakened, and it will seem that nothing much time has gone by.
I believe this notion is familiar to the majority of us through films. Interstellar, Passengers, Avatar are some of the films where characters sleep in long keeps of space. Cinema In films it appears so clean and easy. The individual sleeps, the pod shut and the individual wakes up many years later looking fit. The truth however is a lot more than what we watch on a cinema screen. Scientists are also trying hard to determine whether or not this is a possibility of human beings.
In nature there is an analog of the cryosleep. There are a lot of animals that experience an event known as hibernation during winter. An example of this would be bears, which decrease their body activity to an extent that they can endure long without food during the cold months. Some of the bats and squirrels do so. These animals have been the subject of study by scientists over the years, in an attempt to determine how exactly their bodies can achieve this without abusing their cells and organs. When animals are able to do it in a natural manner, perhaps with sufficient research and technology, humans can be able to do it too in an artificial manner. I believe this provides us with a true cause to have optimism regarding the future of cryosleep.
However, there are some severe challenges which cannot be disregarded. Human body is not originally created to withstand such extreme cold temperatures. Freezing of cells may lead to the formation of ice crystals in the cells and cause severe destruction. It is among the largest issues that researchers are attempting to address. Researchers have been testing special chemicals known as cryoprotectants which have the ability of stopping the formation of ice crystals in the inside of the cells during the freezing process. This has seen some advance in this field namely in the preservation of organs to be used in medical transplants. However, it is quite one thing to save one organ but it is quite the other to save a whole living person. There is still a wide gap between the present state and the desired location.
The other difficulty is the issue of waking up. Although one may be successfully put into the cryosleep, it is also important to bring them back safely. It is essential that the body is heated up in an extremely cautious and regulated manner. A single error in this procedure would be deadly or would lead to severe damages. This issue is under intense examination by scientists and there has been limited success in recent years with experiments with animals but human experiments are yet to become a reality.
This also comes with ethical questions that are associated with this technology. Who will determine which astronauts will sleep and which ones will be awake in order to watch the spacecraft? But what will occur in case something goes wrong when everybody is sleeping? What should be done to the individual who does not desire that he/she be put in a cryosleep but has no option due to the mission requirements? It is not an easy question and it will take very serious considerations before the use of cryosleep can be considered as a normal aspect of space travel.
As a matter of fact, we are yet to see a true future in which cryosleep becomes a reality. Nevertheless, it is a dream that is actively being pursued by serious scientists. The research on space travel is suspended animation and deep sleep, with space travel agencies and even commercial companies investing in this research. The development is gradual but it is taking place.
I believe that until one day humanity will be able to go to the stars and explore the extreme ends of the universe, cryosleep or its close analog will somehow be possible. The distances involved are too huge by any other means. The world is betraying and perhaps one day we shall sleep our way there.