Did you ever wonder what happened to the human body when it went into the zero gravity environment of space? This has been the subject of many interesting science projects on astronauts and here is what they have come to understand.

The bones in the lower part of the body no longer need to support the body as instead of walking the astronauts tend to float from place to place. This makes them lose calcium which is absorbed into the body and the bones  are weaker and more brittle. The muscles are also not used in quite the same manner and tend to atrophy, which means to lose muscle mass.

The heart does not have to pump quite as hard to get the circulation going and over time tends to reduce in size. The lack of gravity makes the discs of the spine expand and so an astronaut is actually taller in space than on earth. Bodily fluids do not get dragged down to the lower body and tend to stay in the upper regions. This gives astronauts puffy faces and head aches.

Sleeping in space also poses a problem and the lack of sleep can affect the performance of the astronaut as well. All in all the science experiments aside, being in outer space is not likely to be a very exciting time for the human body.