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'Body Clock' Hurts Space Travel Prospects

Posted on: Monday, 20 September 2004, 06:00 CDT

British researchers say they believe the human body clock might be a hindrance to the long-endurance flights necessary for distant space exploration.

Researchers at Imperial College London told BBC News the body's circadian rhythm might find it difficult to adapt to cycles other than 24 hours. The Martian day, for example, is an extra 39 minutes long.

The researchers are working with the U.S. National Space Biomedical Research Institute to investigate the impact space travel has on human sleep behavior.

The success of human spaceflight depends on astronauts remaining alert while operating highly complex, state-of-the-art equipment, the NSBRI Web site states. A crucial factor of mission success is getting enough sleep.

Based on existing research aboard the Mir and International Space Station, scientists have found space is an extreme shift-working environment. Crews on space missions sleep poorly, with astronauts averaging about two hours per night less sleep than they normally experience on Earth.

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