{"id":653486,"date":"2026-03-13T20:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/653486\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T20:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:44:13","slug":"new-research-on-muscle-loss-suggests-humans-will-really-suffer-on-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/653486\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research on Muscle Loss Suggests Humans Will Really Suffer on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeping astronauts strong and healthy in microgravity is no easy feat. Those serving six-month missions aboard the International Space Station<\/a> must exercise<\/a> for two hours per day to stave off muscle loss. Pinpointing the level of microgravity at which atrophy begins would therefore be hugely helpful for\u00a0establishing a sustained presence on the Moon<\/a> and Mars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what a study published<\/a> today in Science Advances sought to do. The researchers exposed mice aboard the ISS to various levels of artificial gravity, then examined how their muscles responded. They found that 0.67 g (67% of Earth\u2019s gravity) is a key threshold\u2014any gravity level lower than this caused their muscles to deteriorate.<\/p>\n

While mice are not humans, this is an \u201cexciting study nonetheless because we are able to do experiments in rodents that are more difficult or impossible with humans,\u201d Lori Ploutz-Snyder, dean of the University of Michigan\u2019s school of kinesiology and former lead scientist for NASA\u2019s Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Project, told Gizmodo in an email. She was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n

Muscles need gravity to stay strong <\/p>\n

Mouse models are currently one of the best ways to study the long-term muscular impacts of microgravity, Mark Shelhamer, a professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University and former chief scientist of NASA\u2019s Human Research Program, told Gizmodo. They provide a practical and controlled way to study the physiological effects of microgravity over time.<\/p>\n

The 24 mice involved in this study launched to the ISS in March 2023. The crew aboard the station used the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s MARS centrifuge system to expose the rodents to 0.33 g, 0.67 g, and 1 g conditions for up to 28 days. In April 2023, 23 of the mice returned to Earth alive, and the researchers dissected them to look for changes to their grip strength and signs of atrophy.<\/p>\n

This revealed that even a low gravity level of 0.33 g was enough to stop their muscles from deteriorating completely, although the rodents\u2019 muscle fibers did change in composition. At 0.67 g, the mice showed no muscle deterioration, loss of strength, or fiber changes.<\/p>\n

While these results may not directly transfer to humans, they are\u2014at the very least\u2014a warning sign that gravity levels on the Moon and Mars likely aren\u2019t sufficient for preventing atrophy in astronauts over extended periods of time, as they are well below the 0.67g threshold. Specifically, gravity on the Moon is roughly 0.17 g and 0.38 g on Mars.<\/p>\n

Defining how much gravity humans need <\/p>\n

Interestingly, Ploutz-Snyder\u2019s research\u2014which exposed<\/a> humans to short periods of microgravity using parabolic flights\u2014identified a similar threshold of 0.5 g to 0.75 g. Further research will help determine whether this is just a coincidence or an indication that the 0.67 g threshold is meaningful for humans. She believes, however, that it is a solid starting point for future studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to start somewhere, and this is an exciting development,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Shelhamer agrees. \u201cBefore I saw this study, I would [have said] we know nothing about how much gravity exposure is necessary to halt or slow down the deconditioning that goes on when you send people into space,\u201d he said. \u201cSo this study is certainly helping to define that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both experts said that understanding this threshold will help scientists understand whether gravity levels on the Moon and Mars would be sufficient enough to sustain astronaut health. This is critical, as NASA eventually hopes to establish<\/a> a lunar base through the Artemis program<\/a> and send<\/a> humans to the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no idea if being on the Moon in one-sixth [Earth] gravity or being on Mars in three-eighths [Earth gravity], is enough to stop the deconditioning of bones, muscles\u2014all the other things,\u201d Shelhamer explained. \u201cAnd we really hope that that is enough. Otherwise, you\u2019ve got to take exercise equipment when you\u2019re planning longer missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, understanding this threshold would help scientists determine what levels of artificial gravity might be most helpful and efficient for long-duration spaceflights and if NASA can scale back exercise countermeasures for astronauts exposed to some level of microgravity\u2014whether it be natural or artificial, Ploutz-Snyder explained.<\/p>\n

She hopes future studies will not only help validate and refine the 0.67 g threshold in humans but also investigate how this threshold differs for bone deterioration, how exercise shifts the threshold, and come up with practical implications for this information. Such work could bring us closer than ever to a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keeping astronauts strong and healthy in microgravity is no easy feat. Those serving six-month missions aboard the International…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":564653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[129448,3057,129458,159,783,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-653486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-astronaut-health","tag-international-space-station","tag-microgravity","tag-science","tag-space","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116223820962038957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}