News Escape From Earth: The Curiosity of Mars

Nicole Halseth
News Editor

ccording to their official website,

NASA is currently advertising
positions in a bed-rest study paying
$18, O00 USD ($18, 509 CAD) for a
person to stay in bed for 7O days at
the Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas. The successful applicant would
be able to move around in bed, send
texts, watch television, work, and even
exercise On special equipment, so long

as they stay in bed to do it. NASA has

even devised a way for the participant

to shower and go to the bathroom
without leaving the bed.

During this time, the study participant
will be subjected to 16 hours of
daylight and 8 hours of night, as wel
as constant monitoring of biological
processes and overall health. The
purpose of this experiment is to test the
effects of microgravity on the human
body, and to measure the effects of
weightlessness during space-flight on
astronauts bodies. The bed is tilted so
as fo imitate the effects of microgravity
on the body.

The study will be preceded by a

Nicole Halseth
News Editor
evelopments continue hard and
fast in regards to the conflict in
Syria.

After the recent creation of a joint
US-Russian deal aimed at stopping the
use of chemical weapons within the
country, Syria has begun submitting
details of its chemical weapons to a
Hague-based oversight committee,

the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

This action was necessitated by reports
of alleged chemical attacks against
civilians, condemned by the UN as a
war crime and inciting calls to military
action spearheaded by the US last

period of 13-21 days where the
participant will be able to move

about the facility freely, and it will be
followed by a 14 day recovery period
where the participants will again be
allowed to move about freely. Whether

or not the $18, 509 is worth the

potential long-term health effects of a

One of these treks may be the
proposed upcoming ‘mission to Mars’.

This ‘mission to Mars,’ aptly called
the Mars One mission, began
preparations in 201] and was

launched in New York in April. Run by
the Dutch Mars Project, the Mars One

70-day bed stay is up to the applicart,
but the study remains open. Applicants
who wish to participate in the study
must be physically and mentally able to
deal with 70 days in bed, so they must
pass both a psychological evaluation
and a physical screening. This research
has the potential to benefit many on
long-term space treks in the future.

month. The UN later confirmed that the
nerve gas ‘sarin’ had been used on 21
August in an attack on Ghouta, though
it does not confirm responsibility for the
attack.

Though Syrian president Bashar al-
Assad blamed rebel groups for the
attack, it seems he is complying with
the demand to relinquish control of
all available chemical weapons. The
OPCW expects more data about
Syria's chemical weapons to be
submitted in the next few days.

According to Michael Luhan of
OPCW, this list is only a first step. The
situation is currently being reviewed

and examined by OPCW experts.

Challenges to this process include

MARS

NE

spacesafetymag

mission aims to establish a permanent
colony on Mars by 2023. Though there
is no guarantee that applicants will be
able to return to Earth after departure,
there have nonetheless been a rush

of volunteers. These volunteers include
people from all over the world. The first
round of applications was closed early
in September. According to an article

3

on the BBC website, out of 202,586
total applicants 24% are from the
United States, 10% are from India, and
6% are from China.

Over the next two years, a committee
will narrow this applicant pool down

to around 4O people who will spend
seven years of full-time training for

the journey. These colonists will face
numerous hardships, such as the
potential for radiation poisoning,

and other known and unknown
complications. Despite the hazards, the
pull of Mars and outer space seems to
be worth the risk for thousands around
the world.

It is for this reason that research

such as the NASA ‘bed-rest study’

is so crucial. It will be increasingly
important to predict and prepare for
complications in long-term space travel
as the Mars mission comes closer to
fruition.

Would you volunteer for a one-way
ticket to Mars? Let us know what you
think on twitter: @OVERtheEDGEunbe

or on facebook: Over the Edge
Newspaper.

Syria's Developments

the length of the document, and the
fact that it must first be translated
before analysis. However, members of
the OPCW technical secretariat are
working diligently.

In the US-Russian deal, reached last
Saturday in Geneva after a long
period of conflict between the two
countries regarding the use of chemical
weapons in Syria and what action to
take, Syria was given a deadline of 28
September to submit a comprehensive
list of its chemical weapons. The list
must include the names and quantities
of chemical agents used, types of
weapons, as well as where and

how these chemical weapons are
developed, produced and stored
within the country.

Under the joint deal, this report wil

be followed by on-site inspections

and the complete destruction of alll
production equioment, to be completed
by November. Should Syria refuse

to comply with these demands, the
agreement could be enforced by a

UN resolution, along with sanctions or
military force. The ultimate goal of the
deal is the destruction of all Syria's
chemical weapons by mid-2O14.

The OPCW is expected to have a
timetable for overseeing the execution
of this process soon, which will then be
endorsed by the UN Security Council.
A meeting between top members of
the OPCW, which was supposed to go
forward before the end of September
to create this timetable, was postponed
without an official reason. However,
this meeting is still expected to be
rescheduled as soon as possible.

Though it is unlikely that this recent
submission to OPCW complies with
all the details stipulated in the US-
Russian deal, coupled with the fact
that Syria ratified the OPCW charter
last weekend, it is a good indicator
that the ruling Assad regime is willing
to cooperate with international
authorities. This will hopefully result in
a decrease in civilian casualties and
injuries in the future.