On April 16, the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft return module successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing field. The three astronauts were in normal physical condition. Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu reported that they "felt good." According to the medical supervision and medical insurance personnel, the three astronauts were in normal physical condition. Follow-up, how long will it take for them to recover? What are the challenges?
On April 16, the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft return module successfully landed in the predetermined area of the Dongfeng landing field. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Junchuan
The recovery period is mainly divided into three stages, and the return from space also needs to be quarantined for 14 days
Pang Zhihao, chief scientific communication expert of space exploration technology, introduced in an interview with the cover news: The recovery period after the normal return of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew is mainly divided into three stages: isolation recovery stage, convalescence recovery stage, and recovery observation stage.
The medical isolation period is about 14 days to adapt to ground gravity, improve the cardiovascular system and the ability to support motor organs, and at the same time perform training such as balance and walking. During this period, astronauts were largely isolated from the outside world.
The medical convalescent period is 20 to 30 days, staying in a nursing home with good air, continuing to restore health at the same time, it is necessary to appropriately increase the amount of exercise, further enhance physical fitness, strengthen physiological function reserves, and gradually increase the amount of activity.
The recovery period is about 3 months, the astronaut's physiological parameters will return to the pre-flight state, if the physical condition is good, the astronaut can start normal daily training, if they go to space again, they will have to re-participate in the selection after a year.
After the astronauts successfully leave the capsule, the on-site medical staff will also check the physical condition of the astronauts, and after determining that there is no big problem, there will be special staff to escort the astronauts to the isolation point and enter the first recovery phase: a 14-day isolation recovery phase.
"Providing astronauts with a two-week quarantine period is not because they are worried that they will bring back space viruses, but because long-term life in space will reduce astronauts' physical immunity." Insignificant germs on the earth can cause astronauts to suffer from a serious cold or other disease, for the sake of astronauts' life safety, they must be isolated, not allowing them to contact the outside world, isolation before departure is also for this purpose. Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system of China's manned space project, explained this in detail in her article.
It takes about half a year for the body to recover, and the heart and lungs will be exercised by jogging
"It takes about half a year for the body to recover, and if the recovery is fast, it can reach the state before the flying mission." At present, we mainly exercise the heart and lungs by jogging, and wait until the body is fully recovered before we will enter the next step of training. Liu Boming, a Shenzhou XII astronaut who has fully entered the recovery observation stage, said in an interview with CCTV News.
During the recuperation and recovery stages, astronauts also need to overcome other physical maladaptations and adjust their own living habits. In the weightless environment, astronauts are always accustomed to putting some small things or small objects in front of them and letting them levitate, this habit that has been formed is difficult to change for a period of time after returning to the earth, and because things of different weights can float in space, astronauts do not know how much force should be used to catch them after returning to the earth, which requires a certain period of adaptation adjustment.
The other is to adjust the habits of work and rest. Astronauts on missions in space can see almost 16 sunrises a day, and this suddenly bright and dim environment will disrupt the rhythm of astronauts' lives, and they will curl up in smaller sleeping bags when they sleep, and fixed on the bulkhead of the space station, and when they return to Earth, there will also be many adaptations in the face of such an empty bed.
Psychological assessment is equally important as interventional counseling
NASA once pointed out in a report on the potential impact of time on the human body that 65% of astronauts returning to the ground have some degree of depression. In space, astronauts can see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a day, and frequent light can affect the body's melatonin secretion, reducing melatonin secretion, which will cause astronauts' insomnia, emotional loss of control, and even induce depression and other diseases.
According to Zhong Weiwei, an associate researcher at the Aerospace Medical Engineering General Office of the China Astronaut Training Center, at the press conference, experts and medical personnel will monitor the psychological and physiological conditions of the three astronauts throughout the process to help them smoothly pass the recovery period.
Hail to our space heroes and welcome home! (Liu Yingqi)
