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Text/Chenchen doesn't like to eat tofu c
Editor/Chenchen doesn't like to eat tofu c
The statements in this article are based on reliable sources of information and are detailed at the end of the article
Preface
The field of astronauts is a perfect example of what it means to be a man and a woman, and whether a man or woman wants to go to space, they must receive exactly the same training. However, because of physiological differences, there are still differences in some aspects, such as the fact that every female astronaut who goes to space has to take "contraceptive pills" in advance.
Since the exploration of space, more than 500 humans have been in space, including more than 50 women, accounting for about 10% of the astronaut group, they have the courage and firm belief beyond ordinary people to challenge the unknown space, they are space heroes, but also an important step in human exploration of the universe.
"Project Mercury"
To understand why female astronauts need to take birth control pills in advance, we need to first understand a program called "Mercury".
In the 60s of the last century, the United States engaged in a "Mercury program", in which they selected 13 female astronauts, in the opinion of the project leader, women have an advantage, because the bones are smaller than men's, and the mind is more delicate, in the small space of the spacecraft, women can better complete the exploration mission.
But the person in charge of this project soon found out the problem, and he felt that women were not suitable for being astronauts, because it would be troublesome for women to have periods in space, and in the environment of microgravity, the liquid would not fall to the "ground" of the capsule, and would remain suspended in the capsule, which would have a serious impact on the capsule's equipment.
Moreover, in the space environment, it may cause irregular or stopped menstruation in women, which affects women's endocrine, resulting in a decrease in gonadotropins secreted by the pituitary gland, resulting in affected ovarian function, poor follicular development, affected ovulation, insufficient endometrial hyperplasia, and reduced menstrual flow.
It can even cause chromosomal abnormalities and gene mutations, increase the risk of infertility and miscarriage, and then the radiation, pressure, noise and other factors of the space environment will also affect women's inaccurate menstruation, and may also affect women's fertility.
Because of weightlessness in space, it will affect the function of the female reproductive tract and pelvic floor muscles, resulting in vaginal dryness, uterine prolapse, and pelvic floor muscle relaxation, affecting the process of conception and childbirth.
The 13 female astronauts of the "Mercury Project" have crushed male astronauts with excellent results in many assessments, especially for the early manned spacecraft, at that time, due to the limitations of scientific and technological development, the space left for astronauts was very small, which was more suitable for women.
Unfortunately, despite their excellent grades, they were not able to go into space due to physical problems, and NASA also listed female astronauts as unsuitable for liftoff, a situation that lasted until 1963, when the Soviet Union sent the first female astronaut into space, which attracted the attention of the United States.
At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union also adopted a series of measures for astronauts to deal with these problems, such as how to arrange the time of female astronauts on missions, try to avoid menstrual periods, and design special hygiene products for women.
In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union successfully made a human female space journey, and she successfully completed the scheduled mission in orbit for three days, becoming the world's first female cosmonaut.
Diapers
But she took a drug before going into space, so that she was not disturbed by the menstrual cycle, and the United States also designed a diaper for women, which has a strong adsorption ability and prevents side leakage.
But its disadvantage is that it is very inconvenient to wear, and at the same time it will increase the weight, and the replacement diapers will be very troublesome to handle, and they can't be thrown directly into space, so they have to develop another system to store these diapers, so the weight increases, but despite this, the United States still let female astronauts go to space.
Taking "birth control pills"
In 1998, the construction of the International Space Station began, and materials could be continuously sent into space through carrier rockets, but the diapers made by the Americans were completely insufficient, and after the construction of the space station, female astronauts worked longer and longer working hours, basically staying on it for three months.
If you have three menstrual periods in three months, you have to change diapers three times, but it is very difficult to change underwear in space, let alone change diapers, so American astronauts have also started to take birth control pills, which is much more convenient.
Now, female astronauts in most countries in the world will take contraceptive pills when they go into space, which can block the secretion of women's eggs for a certain period of time, and the validity period is usually one month, and menstruation will naturally not return.
There are also some benefits to taking birth control pills, it can reduce physical discomfort and psychological pressure, and girls will experience abdominal pain, breast tenderness, mood swings, etc., which may be aggravated in the space environment, thus affecting the work of female astronauts in space.
Taking birth control pills before going to space sounds very simple, but in fact, it is not easy to find a suitable drug for the space environment, the space environment is very extreme, and the effect of the drug may be weakened or changed due to microgravity or high radiation, so scientists must trial and error to find the most suitable contraceptive.
In order to ensure the effectiveness of the drug, female astronauts need to start taking it months before the flight until the end of the flight, so that they can fully adapt to the effects of the drug and ensure that there are no problems related to menstruation in space.
However, there are many doubts about the need for female astronauts to take contraceptive pills, and some people feel that this is a violation of women's rights and interests, and it also interferes with the personal choice of astronauts.
But we can't ignore their power, in order to be able to play their best in space, they even do not hesitate to take contraceptive pills and other measures, precisely to realize the dream of human exploration of space.
And female astronauts go to space not only have menstrual problems to pay attention to, but also the urinary system is more complex than men's, and the urine in space needs to be utilized, which can be cited after processing, and the collection of men's urine is simpler than that of women.
Advantages of female astronauts
Therefore, female astronauts have to pay more than men, and female astronauts have many advantages, although female astronauts need to face many physical problems, they also have unique advantages in the universe.
The level of estrogen in women's bodies is much higher than that of men, and hormones are directly related to the metabolism of magnesium and iron in the body, so compared to men, female astronauts working on the space station rarely have diseases such as ferritism and arrhythmias, and compared with men, women are mentally more secure in the space station.
Some data show that the presence of women can reduce the chance of male astronauts suffering from depression, but whether it is a man or a woman, after a long time of space missions, whether physical or psychological, need to suffer a huge test, not suitable for human survival in outer space, the environment is extremely complex will have many unfavorable factors, it is easy to threaten the safety of astronauts themselves.
Since 1992, the Chinese astronauts have successfully carried out a number of major missions, conducted a large number of scientific experiments in space, and made important contributions to mankind's understanding of space.
There have been rumors that the space environment has a great impact on women, and female astronauts may not be able to have children when they return. The first female astronaut in space on the mainland was Liu Yang, who broke this rumor with practical actions, and she gave birth to a healthy baby.
However, according to past experience, the mainland will give priority to pregnant female pilots, so after being selected as astronauts, both men and women have to undergo training for several years, during which they cannot have children, so this will cause some married female astronauts to miss the best time to give birth.
With the deepening of human space exploration, it is believed that more female astronauts will overcome their own problems and fly into the vast universe in the future!
Reference Sources:
Female astronauts can also wear makeup in space?
Female astronauts hold up "half the sky" in space What are their advantages?-Xinhuanet