If our bodies change (over time) just depending on the continent our ancestors lived on, how much would our bodies change from living on other planets?
Thinking of just a few variables – positioning of sun to the planet, gravity, quality of food.
Will it be possible to survive for generations on another planet?
Any research on this?
In: 13
Gravity is the big open question: Among all planets in our system with a solid surface to stand on, Earth has the highest gravity. You can simulate an even higher gravity with centrifuges but you cannot simulate a lower gravity. Running a centrifuge for months is very expensive. Simulating a lower (but non-zero) gravity needs a centrifuge in space, which is even more expensive. We know free-fall is bad for e.g. rats from experiments on the ISS but that doesn’t tell us much about the region in between free fall and Earth. More experiments are needed before we can think of living long-term elsewhere.
Food: That depends on what food we can grow where. It should be possible to produce a reasonable diet essentially everywhere. You can grow the same plants as on Earth.
No matter where, humans will need habitable temperatures and useful light conditions. That is more expensive to produce on other planets, but it’s necessary.
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