Space missions for persons with disabilities might could really happen as the new "Mission: AstroAccess" project tries to make this a possibility. Last Oct. 17, the non-profit space program allowed 12 individuals with disabilities to experience weightlessness.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket streaks skyward off Launch Complex 41 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on July 30, 2020 carrying the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. The Perseverance rover will seek signs of ancient life and collect rock samples for a possible return to earth.
This activity took off from Long Beach, California. As of the moment, Mission: AstroAccess aims to send persons with disabilities to space in the future. One of the lucky individuals to be included in the new program is Sina Bahram.
During his space-like experience, he said that he enjoyed the opportunity given by AstroAccess since he really dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
"I knew it would be a joyous experience just because I looked forward to it for many decades of my life, but the visceral nature of that joy wasn't brought home until you actually experience it," he said via The Verge's latest report.
Persons with Disabilities Could Visit Space?
Recently, Blue Origin sent William Shatner to outer space, allowing him to become the oldest individual to reach outer space. Jeff Bezos' company is just one of the agencies that are trying to push space tourism to allow common people to have the chance of leaving Earth.
A patient with an orthopaedic device is doing a session of kinesitherapy at the National Association for Rehabilitation and Appliances of Central Africa (ANRAC) in Bangui on January 28, 2020. - In Bangui, a practice allows disabled people to regain dignity thanks to prostheses and orthoses. 50% of their patients have been deteriorated because of the conflict. (Photo by FLORENT VERGNES / AFP)
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Meanwhile, NASA is also making its own efforts, including the upcoming Lucy flight. But, AstroAccess is quite different from these space agencies since it wants to help individuals with disabilities to visit outer space.
According to Scientific American's latest report, the ongoing Mission: AstroAccess program still hasn't made any space missions. Although this is the case, the agency's microgravity project still allows persons with disabilities to feel what astronomers and other space visitors actually feel when they are outside Earth.
Will NASA Allow Individuals with Disabilities?
Right now, NASA is the main space agency that sends people to outer space. But, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration still has some requirements before it allows a person to visit outer space.
Candidates for future spaceflights need to be in great condition. This means that must have good health and physique if they want to be launched outside Earth.
But, since Blue Origin already sent old people to outer space, it simply shows that bringing Earthlings there would not be conducted by NASA alone in the future.
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Written by: Griffin Davis