Is it possible for humans or animals to adjust to a near-vacuum environment if the transition was gradual enough? Obviously the subject would still need to breathe so wearing an oxygen mask is a given.
Every experiment (and accident) I could find regarding human/animal exposure to vacuum either involved rapid depressurization or used animals whose physiology differed greatly from that of humans (insects and crustaceans).
One of the more useful examples was a study performed by NASA in 1964, in which they rapidly depressurized 126 dogs for brief periods (5 to 180 seconds).
>https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660005052.pdf
But I can't help but wonder if they would retain consciousness and function if the transition was more gradual. After all, scuba divers take regular breaks when resurfacing to allow their bodies to adjust to the lower pressure. The current world record for a scuba dive is 332 meters, meaning the human body is capable of adjusting to a pressure 30 times higher then normal, and then re-adjusting back to sea-level pressure given enough time (14 hours in the case of said record). If this is the case, is it unreasonable to assume our bodies may also be capable of adjusting a difference in pressure just 1/30th of that in the opposite direction?
If anyone has more information or examples of relevant studies I missed please share. I'm fascinated by this idea as it may have immense impact on the future of space travel and colonization.
Every experiment (and accident) I could find regarding human/animal exposure to vacuum either involved rapid depressurization or used animals whose physiology differed greatly from that of humans (insects and crustaceans).
One of the more useful examples was a study performed by NASA in 1964, in which they rapidly depressurized 126 dogs for brief periods (5 to 180 seconds).
>https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660005052.pdf
But I can't help but wonder if they would retain consciousness and function if the transition was more gradual. After all, scuba divers take regular breaks when resurfacing to allow their bodies to adjust to the lower pressure. The current world record for a scuba dive is 332 meters, meaning the human body is capable of adjusting to a pressure 30 times higher then normal, and then re-adjusting back to sea-level pressure given enough time (14 hours in the case of said record). If this is the case, is it unreasonable to assume our bodies may also be capable of adjusting a difference in pressure just 1/30th of that in the opposite direction?
If anyone has more information or examples of relevant studies I missed please share. I'm fascinated by this idea as it may have immense impact on the future of space travel and colonization.
