Table Of ContentWhy Am I Taller?
What Happens to an Astronaut’s Body in Space
Dr. Dave Williams, Astronaut, and Elizabeth Howell, PhD
Contents
Praise for the Authors’ Books
Dedication
Preface
Chapter 1: The Adaptation Advantage
Chapter 2: Flying Blind
Chapter 3: Striking a Balance
Chapter 4: Food for Thought
Chapter 5: The Space-Time Continuum
Chapter 6: Are We There Yet?
Chapter 7: Working Like an Insect
Chapter 8: Skin, Hooves and Nails
Chapter 9: Interplanetary Protection
Chapter 10: Touching the Moon
Chapter 11: Reversible Aging
Chapter 12: Seeking Resistance
Chapter 13: Bare Bones
Chapter 14: Where’s Up?
Chapter 15: Tricorders and Holodecks
Chapter 16: Exploring Beyond
Warp drive or hyperdrive
Wormholes
Multigenerational voyages
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Notes
Index
Copyright
Praise for the Authors’ Books
Leadership Moments from NASA
— Dave Williams and Elizabeth Howell
“This is a fascinating read, extracting leadership lessons
from many people who were on the front lines at NASA.
There is a lot of history here, and from that, one hopes,
some guidance for the future.”
— Mike Griffin, former NASA Administrator and Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
“Spaceflight is a demanding and unforgiving environment
and flying humans in space takes tremendous leadership
skills to be successful. This book is a must-have resource
and guide for anyone studying and wanting to improve their
leadership skills, even in fields outside of human
spaceflight.”
— Bill Gerstenmaier, Vice President of Mission Assurance at
SpaceX
Canadarm and Collaboration
— Elizabeth Howell, foreword by Dave Williams
“Be sure to read Canadarm and Collaboration for a
fascinating look at Canada’s evolving space program and its
past, present and possible future.”
— Universe Today
“Illustrates how the country has maintained a human
spaceflight program for several decades through a
combination of technological specialization — Canadarm
and its successors — and collaboration with the United
States.”
— The Space Review
Defying Limits
— Dave Williams
“Williams is at his best when describing astronaut training,
from the high-altitude chamber meant to help would-be
astronauts recognize . . . oxygen deficiency, to . . . an
aircraft fondly known as the ‘vomit comet.’ Space may be
where astronauts ‘defy limits,’ but Williams’s memoir
reveals an astronaut’s most important work takes place with
feet firmly on the ground.”
— Washington Post
“An inspirational tale of a remarkable Canadian doctor,
astronaut, space walker, aquanaut, CEO and loving father
who turned failure into astounding accomplishments in
space and on the ground. A fabulous example of how to live
life to the fullest.”
— Bob McDonald, CBC’s chief science correspondent and host of
Quirks & Quarks
Dedication
In memory of Charles A. Berry, MD
“The Astronauts’ Doctor”
Preface
“Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live
in a cradle forever.”
— Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
As the golden rays of the slowly setting sun emerge over the horizon, the hint of
darkness grows. The twinkling bright light of Venus that has captured the
imagination of stargazers throughout history appears in the ever-deepening dark
blue above. Commonly referred to as the evening star, it is the prelude to the
wonder of the night sky and the many constellations that fascinate us, just as
they did the early astronomers. In far northern or southern regions, some may be
lucky enough to see the magic of the aurora dancing in the heavens. This
spectacular ever-changing vista of lights was thought by some ancient societies
to represent the forces of good and evil dragons, their fire battling on high.
Others felt that the shifting curtain of lights represented lost loved ones trying to
communicate with friends and relatives back on Earth. The sense of awe and
wonder invoked by the darkness above has touched onlookers’ spirits for
millennia, a reminder of the fragility of our shared human existence in the vast
infinite void of space. Throughout history, looking up at the night sky has
inspired deep curiosity about what may be out there. Those feelings were a
major force that indelibly shaped my future.
Growing up in what was one of the most remarkable decades of exploration
in history, I was a typical child of the ’60s. Virtually every waking hour was
spent outdoors, especially in the summertime. My earliest recollections go back
to when I was five or six years old, when my friends and I would lie on our
backs enveloped by the smell of fresh grass and gaze upward, mesmerized by the
stars above, challenging each other to identify the few constellations we knew.
These were the early days of space exploration and there were few human-made
satellites to be seen. When we spotted them as small, moving, faint lights, our
imagination immediately made us wonder if they were UFOs, alien spacecraft
coming to visit our planet — a popular topic of comic books at that time. Little
did I realize then that my childhood dreams of exploring space and the undersea
world would one day come true.
Given what appeared to be an impossible path to become an astronaut,
exploring the oceans seemed a more achievable goal and I was fortunate to learn
to scuba dive when I was 12. The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau was a
popular TV series at the time and every week I vicariously participated in the
exploits of Cousteau’s team aboard the Calypso. Over time, my passion for
diving grew into a broader desire to understand how the human body adapted to
living underwater in undersea habitats. Similarly, my interest in spaceflight,
inspired by the NASA missions of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts,
made me wonder about the remarkable ability of humans to thrive in such
different worlds — the frontiers of space and the ocean. That quest for knowledge
took me to McGill University on a 12-year journey that included studying
comparative physiology and neuroscience, as an undergraduate and in graduate
school, then going on to medical school.
When I responded to the Canadian Space Agency’s call in 1992 for
applicants to the second group of astronauts to be hired in Canada, I was
working as Director of the Department of Emergency Services at Sunnybrook
Regional Health Centre in Toronto. Emergency medicine specialty training had
become recognized throughout North America in the preceding decade, and I
was proud to have finished residency training in family medicine and specialty
training in emergency medicine and then join a team of experienced clinicians
able to deal with any medical or surgical emergency. Many of my colleagues and
I were trauma team leaders. As well, our group provided the base hospital
