Due to the increase in coronavirus cases, we are forced to lock ourselves at homes. This sudden social isolation is something that we can hardly resist. That’s because it forces us to stay away from all the social activities that we have been doing for all our life.
The concept of quarantining is not something new for the astronauts. It is a part of the job that they have to do.
While quarantining yourself during this pandemic, it is worthy of taking a look at the differences that we can find in between astronauts quarantine and coronavirus quarantine.
Astronaut quarantining
During the initial space missions, astronauts had to face a variety of issues with getting sick while they were in space. This is the main reason why the astronauts were subjected to a pre-flight quarantine. Along with the preflight quarantine, it was possible to provide astronauts with a better understanding of the isolation that they have to experience while they are in space. This reduced the risk that the astronauts had to face with getting viruses while they were in space.
Upon understanding the importance of quarantining, NASA went ahead and developed a mobile quarantining facility. This mobile quarantining facility was used for the Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 missions. That’s because the scientists at NASA were not too sure about the conditions that the astronauts will be exposed to while they are at the moon. They assumed that there is a high possibility for the astronauts to get into moon sickness or moon bugs. On the other hand, scientists were afraid that astronauts would bring back viruses and other harmful pathogens home, which can contaminate the planet earth.
Astronauts, who went into the moon, collected lunar samples. These lunar samples were also subjected to quarantine: scientists at NASA made sure that they are handling the lunar samples in an appropriate quarantine facility so that they are not capable of contaminating the planet.
After the splashdown, the astronauts were asked to spend 21 days in quarantine: they are provided with sleeping and living facilities, and they are allowed to communicate with the outer world through a window. While spending time in the quarantine, the astronauts were provided with activities to keep themselves engaged and physically active.
We can see how this practice of quarantining the astronauts take place in the space missions that take place out there in the world nowadays as well. That’s because the scientists are concerned about the health and safety of all the astronauts and the population that lives on the planet. There are two different quarantining measures taken as of now.
The astronauts will be subjected to a quarantining time of around ten days before they go ahead with their space missions so that they can be provided with better assistance with getting used to the conditions that they have to experience. On the other hand, the astronauts are also subjected to spend time in quarantining after they return back. The time duration varies based on the nature of the mission. This is known as the health stabilization period. However, it is focusing more on taking appropriate measures to keep the world safe as well.
Coronavirus quarantining
Now you have a basic understanding of how astronaut quarantining looks like. While keeping that in mind, it is worthy of taking a look at coronavirus quarantine as well. That’s because you will be able to discover numerous similarities between them.
Coronavirus is a respiratory disease, which spreads from one person to another via bodily fluids. If you want to refrain from getting the virus, you need to make sure that you don’t go closer to an infected person. This is the main reason why the countries are now locked down, and people have been asked to stay at their homes.
As you can see, both astronaut quarantining and coronavirus quarantining have been introduced in order to ensure the betterment of the people and preserve them with good health. Both of them will ensure that no harmful viruses and pathogens can contaminate the world and create a threat to human life.
