Women are born to be better astronauts than men, study finds.

In 1961, astronaut Yuri Gagarin He became the first man in space. The first woman to leave this planet was Valentina Tereshkovaalso an astronaut, during a mission in 1963. As for American astronauts, the first person to go into space was Alan Shepardwho made her journey shortly after Gagarin, in 1961. On the other hand, the first American astronaut, Sally Ridehad to wait until 1983 to fulfill its mission. The first astronauts on the moon They were men. In fact, to date, no woman has set foot on our satellite. Currently female astronauts They represent only 11% of all people in this profession. However, science suggests that they are much better prepared for space flight than men.

It seems paradoxical, but it is true. Several investigations have already been conducted in this regard. The latest one, published in Natural communicationsespecially analyzes changes at the level of the immune system.

It is important to emphasize that this is a small investigation, but it consolidates existing ones and provides more data to continue work in the same direction. It is clear that, despite the fact that for a long time they were considered the weaker sex, women astronauts should have gone into space much earlier and, above all, they should have been given more opportunities so that 11% is the figure today. much higher. And what for many is a weakness, in fact the basis of his strength. Let’s see what exactly the research says.

The unknown power of female astronauts

This study focused primarily on four members SpaceX Inspiration 4 missionwhich took place in 2021. On board were Jared Isaacman, Haley Arsenault, Sian Proctor and Christopher Senbroski. Two men and two women. Blood samples were taken before and after spaceflight, and the results were compared with those of other spacecraft. 64 astronautsthis time from NASA.

So, something interesting was noticed. Logically, they all showed what is known as space flight signature. That is, changes in markers associated with, among other things, inflammation, aging and muscle homeostasis. However, these changes were not the same in male and female astronauts.

The first ones had a lot more of their alterations. gene expression. This term refers to genes that are in use at any given time. All our cells have the same genes, but not all of them are used in all cells at all times. For example, genes that carry instructions for the synthesis of insulin are present in all cells, but in an eye cell they will never be used. They are used only in cases where the pancreas is the organ that secretes this hormone. In addition, the pancreas does not produce insulin constantly. How often you do this depends largely on the amount of glucose in your blood. Therefore, we say that the insulin gene is expressed only in the pancreas and only when needed.

According to this study, spaceflight significantly alters the expression of many genes in male cells. Most notably, large changes were seen in those proteins that code for protein synthesis, such as interleukin 6, interleukin 8 and fibrinogen. They play an important role in the response to infections, inflammation and blood clotting respectively. Consequently, these processes remain much more stable in female astronauts.

What’s all this for?

The reasons for these changes are not entirely clear. However, the authors of this latest study believe that it may be related to the fact that women have the body is prepared for pregnancy. During pregnancy, the body undergoes big changes. It’s not about radiation or microgravity, of course, but there are changes in fluid dynamics which in some ways can be compared to space travel. Whatever the reason, these are extreme conditions. It seems that the female body is more prepared for the changes. For this reason, female astronauts, although they have their own peculiarity of space flight, do not experience such drastic changes.

If they are more protected from inflammation or infection, it is clear that efforts should be made to attract more women to this profession. Of course, a lot has changed since Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. However, social change occurs very slowly. Although men and women are afforded the same opportunities today, there is still important work to be done. Public acceptance and as a sample of recommendations for girls, so that they understand that they can be not only astronauts, if they want and work for it. They also have a body, perhaps better prepared than men.