State of Anabiosis for Astronauts in Long-Duration Interplanetary Flights: Science Fiction or Future Medicine? The concept of putting astronauts into a state of artificial anabiosis (or stasis) for multi-month or multi-year interplanetary missions has long moved from the pages of science fiction to serious research programs by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and private companies (such as SpaceX). This idea is no longer seen as a plot device but as a potentially decisive technology for manned missions to Mars and other planets, allowing to overcome key physiological, psychological, and logistical barriers. 1. Technological and Medical Challenges of Long-Duration Flights. Traveling to Mars under the classic scenario with an active crew takes 6-9 months one way. This creates a complex of problems: Resource consumption: The crew consumes oxygen, water, food, generates waste. For a long-duration mission, this requires an enormous mass of cargo, making it economically and technically unfeasible. Body degradation in weightlessness: Despite the physical exercise system, astronauts develop muscle atrophy, demineralization of bones (up to 1-2% per month), cardiovascular changes, and vision impairments. Psychological stress: Long-term stay in a confined space, monotony, removal from Earth, social isolation, and potential interpersonal conflicts pose a serious risk to mental health. Radiation exposure: In deep space, outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere, the crew is exposed to galactic cosmic rays and solar proton events, increasing the risks of oncological diseases and CNS damage. The state of controlled stasis theoretically can mitigate all these problems. 2. Prototypes in Nature: Hibernation and Torpor. Scientists are not inventing anabiosis from scratch but strive to reproduce and improve mechanisms that exist in nature: True hibernation in squirrels, ground squirrels, and bats: radical reduction of metabolism by 85-99%, body temperature to levels close t ... Read more