Quote:
Originally Posted by Bearded One
This is why I wished we returned to the Moon soon after Apollo. We have far to little data on the effects of reduced gravity over long time periods. Most of the research has gone into zero-G studies.
This question is pertinent to any discussion of long term bases or colonization. If someone is born on Mars could they live out their life on Mars without resorting to daily centrifuge visits? (assuming they never plan to go to Earth)
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Well, yes and no.
Their bones would be thinner due to the reduced gravity, as would their muscles,
potentially. It could be they just lift three times as much on a regular basis, in which case their bones could be nearly as strong and dense as our own.
However, if they don't routinely lift three times as much as we do, if general muscle mass and bone density is more a factor of gravity than it is genetics, then their bones could be as low as one-third the strength of our own. I suspect, however, that genetics plays at least some role, and that's reflected in the current studies of prolonged weightlessness, where the astronauts were living in zero-G for more than a year, but even with moderate exercise less than 10% of each day, their bone density was slowed dramatically.
If I had to swag it, I'd say both bone density and muscle mass after long-term (five to ten years or more) of Earth-born humans on Mars would settle in around 2/3 of what it is here on Earth.
Unless you managed to find a bunch of astronauts who were weight-lifting fanatics. I dare say that doing 600-lb (mass) bench presses and similar exercises a couple hours a day would keep both their bones and their muscles Earth-ready.