How people will change after 5, 10, and 50 years on Mars: elongated limbs, puffy faces. Illustration

After Elon Musk's announcement that he wants to bring earthlings to Mars in less than 10 years and build a city there, experts began to think about how the Red Planet will affect the human body. After all, living in the conditions of Martian gravity for a long time will change us.

Kyle Zagrodzky, founder of OsteoStrong, a company specializing in bone health, suggested that humans could even evolve into a new subspecies. He explained that the Martian environment may push the human species to evolve into new versions of its "Earthling cousins" with elongated limbs and puffy faces that will form 5, 10 and 50 years after being on the Red Planet, The Sun reports.

According to Kyle, the astronauts who will go to Mars will initially feel pretty good because the lower gravity reduces the weight of their bones and joints. "New comers would have a massive physical advantage in the short run. Until their bones and muscles are down regulated," he said.

After all, Mars has about 38% of Earth's gravity. And this will have a significant impact on the human body.

Optimistic estimates from a 2020 Stanford study showed that astronauts will lose a third of their bone density during a three-year mission to Mars. And about half of them may develop osteoporosis. And the first noticeable change will be the lengthening of the spine.

According to Kyle, a short-term stay on the Red Planet will not have a strong impact on the human body. "Other than a change in the distribution of fat, which might look more and more strange over time, we probably wouldn’t see significant outward physical changes in adults going to visit Mars for short periods of time," the scientist said.

However, if Elon Musk's grandiose plans to colonize Mars do materialize and people stay on the Red Planet for years, changes can be seen even on their faces. "Changes in fat distribution, making faces look puffier would likely be the first changes we’d see. One new generation growing up from birth would look a lot different, especially post puberty," Zagrodzky said.

The expert also emphasized that without the influence of Earth's gravity, people on Mars will be much weaker in all areas: the development of bones, muscles, and the cardiovascular system will be significantly hampered and will also cause serious diseases.

"Muscles are used for more than strength. They also contain insulin receptors that are critical for regulating blood glucose levels. Weak, under developed muscles would likely have fewer insulin receptors, and I’d imagine that Type 2 Diabetes would be a one of many serious issues that Martians would face," suggested Kyle Zagrodzky.

Volodymyr Usov, former head of the National Space Agency of Ukraine, turned space entrepreneur, said that to colonize Mars, earthlings will need genetically modified astronauts. He noted that human biology holds back the colonization of other planets.

Usov believes that private industry and scientists should invest more in adapting human biology for space. According to him, without this factor, long-term space travel will be virtually impossible.

Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!