A study finds that women are better suited for the physical challenges of space travel than men. On average, they tend to be smaller and lighter, consuming fewer resources.
https://qz.com/women-men-space-travel-health-recovery-astronauts-study-1851544259?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=quartz_reddit
10 Comments
Yeah i mean we’ve known women are on average smaller than men for a while. The study isn’t about that tho, which the person who wrote the title could have known had they bothered to read it.
It also has a sample size of 4, so, take it with a grain of salt
Bone density? I saw a recent study showing bone density issues in astronauts. Women are predisposed to thinner bones.
Where I’m at, the women are not smaller or lighter than the men. They could probably survive longer in space, though, because they have a greater reserve of stored energy and more insulation.
I seriously wonder sometimes which sex is more adaptable with their sexuality like do women or men struggle more with celibacy in space I imagine one way or another you’d probably be more productive not eat as much not sleep as much without it very serious business we are talking about here or is there a pill for induced celibacy could us civilians maybe get one I really don’t need anymore testosterone you dig
Data from one mission is enough for this blanket statement? I don’t think so.
When an article opens with, “Women are better than men at most things, that’s just a given…” it suggests a biased argument right off the bat. And while I can’t immediately find a link to the study in the article, the research appears to be this paper:
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49211-2](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49211-2)
By necessity, the paper analyses a tiny sample size (which is recognized in the paper), and it draws conclusions via effects on cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and metabolites. So, while it is interesting and useful, it is nothing like what the Quartz article asserts.
Oh, and the research came out mid-last year, so is hardly news of the day!
But nobody cares about “averages”. Astronauts aren’t chosen at random from the population.
A crew mostly composed of large strong men is certainly a waste of resources if there is no use for their strength.
Robert A. Heinlein knew this back when he wrote *Starship Troopers*
Apples and oranges. Sometimes you need smaller hands and sometimes you need bigger arms.
Wonder how this study correlates to the amount of women wanting to go to space to get tf away from men.