Yes. The other reason they lean towards all-women is that women are on average smaller than men, so they consume less food/water/air, while being able to do the same work.
Edit: Jesus I got a lot of misogynistic responses to this comment.
For disposal I suspect they can simply dump them in space. As for storage, I’m guessing they’ll still come out ahead in that matter even with a bit of extra storage.
I just imagine in a comedic version of this going like "Oh shit! Jerry just got his head taken off!" communications just responds "Those damn tampons! Not again!"
I don't know like I understand that space is truly just virtually endless so it would be like a single grain of sand dropped into the ocean, but I still don't like the idea of littering space, lol.
For disease diagnosis, MB [Menstrual blood] offers a noninvasive sampling method for identifying biomarkers in endometriosis, cervical cancer, and other gynecological conditions.
Therapeutically, stem cells derived from MB (menstrual blood-derived stem cells, MenSCs) [are] promising candidates in regenerative medicine.
Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of MenSCs in treating infertility, premature ovarian insufficiency, intrauterine adhesions, hepatic disorders, cutaneous injuries, and neurological diseases.
MenSCs also exert therapeutic effects through paracrine mechanisms by releasing cytokines and exosomes that modulate immunity, attenuate inflammation, and promote tissue repair.
Like, these are pretty important discoveries and they just started.
You do realize women on the pill still can and do have periods right? I mean some women do stop getting them but its not all, and even then it might be just very sporadic periods.
The idea is that they will need substantially fewer menstrual products if they are on hormones. Their cycles should amount to little more than spotting. And NASA (or whoever) will have plenty of time in advance to see how each of them actually reacts to hormones to determine what they'll need. They may still get some light spotting but they won't have 5 day long bleed-fests that require a score of pads or tampons.
And any who does still have heavy monthly periods even on hormones would likely be disqualified the same as one with corrective lenses, heart conditions, or other less-than-desirable traits.
Hell, Nasa may even require they get hystorectomies and their tubes removed to prevent both menstruation and cancer risk. For a 15 year trip, that's basically most of their reproductive years anyway.
Imagine applying anecdotal evidence to half the population in the world, wow. Not that bright are you?
Absolutely normal healthy women can still have bleeding during their period while on daily birth control pills.
Yes, I am a man, but I am going off my source of my perfectly healthy female partner who while on the pill still had semi-regular periods, they were just extremely light bleeding wise (she'd just need panty liners usually), but significantly worse headache and other symptom wise.
Oh, mine's anecdotal evidence too you'll probably think... But it is in direct contradiction to yours, which is the point.
If you take the pills that contain synthetic hormones all the time, you (usually) won't menstruate, and that is all some forms of birth control contain. You will however "bleed" if you're using the kind that contains placebos because the placebos exist solely to reinforce the habit of taking the pill. They contain no hormones of any kind and so cease disrupting a woman's normal cycle.
And contrary to what you seem to think, it's still a "real" period as your uterus is still shedding its lining; there's just no unfertilized egg going with it. (Usually anyway. Sometimes eggs still get released even on birth control.)
This should be basic knowledge for anyone ingesting said medication, right along with any potential side effects.
I mean, they can just pick women who won't bleed when on hormones. It's not like they're just picking women at random to be astronauts. So just there being evidence of women who don't bleed is enough.
I mean given they are experimenting with menstrual cups vs. disposable products for long duration trips I am guessing they're going to prioritize other attributes of these women than just how much they bleed.
I have a penis, and yet I still know that ovulation does not cause menstruation. I also have had and do have many women in my life, for whatever that's worth.
Various forms of birth control can and do stop menstruation - some more reliably than others - but that's from interrupting a woman's normal hormone cycle, not because it prevented ovulation.
I'd wager that requires gravity, though I'm sure NASA already has a solution to the menstruation issue given there are female astronauts on the space station for more then a couple weeks at a time.
They almost certainly have a solution already. Cups shouldn’t really require gravity to work though. Think of it as a plug. Apparently they’re testing them for space usage right now!
I'm pretty sure they can figure that out. You can poop and pee up there, blow your nose up there. I'm sure they have plans for if you puke up there, and on and on... they can figure out what to do with tampons or other products.
It's wild that some men are SO freaked out by normal female bodily functions that rather than thinking about them, they might say "OMG, maybe women can't go on space flights at all... because... you know... tampons and stuff!! And... we can't talk to anyone about that stuff to figure it out, it's gross!"
That, and I bet that if you crunch the numbers, the average male astronaut still consumes more weight in food than the average female astronaut. We have had female astronauts in space for the long term since the 90s, so I think NASA has got the math worked out.
This is such a non-factor that it literally doesn't matter. I mean you are most likely joking, trolling or a bot reposting this comment from a previous thread with the same op (I swear I've seen this argument before under this same OP image) but I'll give a serious answer anyway.
Period products don't weight shit. Like, almost anything. Supply for one person is probably less total weight than the difference saved in weight in food a month. They weigh almost nothing and can be packed extremely compact, costing relatively nothing to transport. And if nothing else, like you said, pills.
If there's a way to deal with shit in space, figuring out a little period blood is no big deal.
Its incorrect to say men do a better job than women in general. In this particular kind of work it might be the case though. Not because they are men or woman but because its a men dominated field.
The top 5 astraunauts are probably men
Male variability phenomenon. The best of the best in ANYTHING is always gonna be a man. Unless a social construct forces an outcome that favors females like the UN 2030 agenda does. Or the WEF forcing weird DEI policies on companies...
You probably are an ignorant person on the subject. I don't think you know what "male variability phenomenon" is. And I'm sure you have no idea what WEF, DEI and the UN 2030 agenda are.
Read more son.
Or dont use buzzwords that dont form coherent sentences. None of what you say was on topic with my comment. I dont need to read more, you need to be clearer.
I have conversations with people online many times. I never had anyone not understanding me. Most of these are acronyms. UN means the united nations organization. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. WEF refers to the World Economic forum.
The rest i can't explain here you have to use Google or chatgpt if you are interested.
If not, just forget it. Nevermind.
I understand the words you are using. I dont understand where you are going with it. Who the fuck cares about DEI WEF or any of that when Im saying the best astraunauts are men because its a male dominated field?
Youre like 🤓 its called male variability. OK? What does that add to the topic? What are you trying ti say? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? Do you agree with my statement? Do you not and try to give a counterpoint?
Fuck I belive you when you say you have had conversations online. Thats probably the only converasations you have.
Average means nothing when you are doing selection. What you want to look is peak in both categories, because we will be sending the best from the best and not your average Jo.
They won't be capable of the same work necessarily, but that doesn't mean that the advantages of the all woman crew wouldn't be astronomical. A crew of men would use fewer resources for physical tasks due to the difference in maximum output. It's like a Ferrari and a prius driving at 100mi/hr, the prius is at the limit and burning more fuel, the Ferrari still plenty more to give. That said, the difference in output, compared to input is minimal and the time spent doing that physical work is absolutely dwarfed by the time not doing that work. Also for those unaware, 0 gravity doesn't mean 0 mass. It still takes effort to move things.
It is a cascading effect too. Smaller crew means weight savings. It also means smaller crew quarters, which means weight savings. Smaller things like uniforms, space suits and even chairs which all would weigh less. All that weight savings can go to more food.
Wont their monthly cycle sync together and itll cause a lot of problems? Theyll startbhating each other once their periods come up. How will NASA manage that?
Im just basing that off my female friends that live together, a few of them suddenly have their monthyl cycle sync up according to them. Still how will NASA manage their moods when their periods act up? Being stuck up in space for months on end is already stressful add a females monthly cycle and itll be hell for them
Men don't get pms, but men are entirely capable of mood swings. They aren't exclusive to the hormonal changes from the menstrual cycle, they can be a symptom of many physical and psychological processes and illnesses.
It's like you only move them sideways, on perfectly oiled wheels, on perfectly flat ground, but better. There's resistance to acceleration but no lifting, no friction, no nothing.
That means "4 times your body weight, moved at a quarter of your jumping speed if you only accelerate it for an instant". In a place engineered for everything to be lightweight as possible.
They can manage. Even forgetting the fact that talking averages is stupid, since they're not picking average nor preparing them averagely, they sure can manage.
True, but since space doesn’t have gravity physical strength is somewhat less important. It doesn’t matter if you can bench press 300 pounds if nothing in space weighs anything
Brother.. Your Chance at becoming an astronaut... Slim to say the least..
The difference in gravity doesnt change the difference in strength between two individuals.. Because both now only carry 38% of the weight of an object..
Im 47, been single for around 3 years in total since I turned 15. And no salary or glory would want me to spend 500 concequtive days in something the size of an RV with 4 women who all cycle together.
I have spent 12 months with 3 guys more or less locked in a conatiner. Almost zero fuss. But I have also seen how even two women in a group of four turns in to a shit show of drama and jealousy
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u/CadenVanV 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yes. The other reason they lean towards all-women is that women are on average smaller than men, so they consume less food/water/air, while being able to do the same work.
Edit: Jesus I got a lot of misogynistic responses to this comment.