Question: Are there any benefits to low/zero gravity? Could anti-gravity be harnessed? Are there medical pros / cons to it? And if it was something that was being developed or adapted, when would it be potentially functional on earth?

Adrianos Golemis answered on 27 Dec 2015:

Hello, again, Anon! I think it’s fair to say that low gravity (0G) is… just different. I bet it could be beneficial for a thing or two, but generally speaking our human bodies have evolved to perform well in the presence of Earth’s gravity (1G). So there is a number of challenges to face when an Atsronaut goes to space, where gravity is practically zero, or on the surface of the Moon or Mars, where gravity is but a fraction of what we experience on Earth. These challenges impact on most systems of the human body, including cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, immune, and others. Astronauts typically swell during their first days in space, then gradually their feet muscles grow weaker as they don’t use them so much. They are more prone to disease too while their bone density decreases. Small eyesight problems that may result from low gravity have been reported too. The human sense of orientation is also affected when gravity is low.

Most of these can be reversed after returning to Earth, where gravity is what our bodies are made for. But even in space scientists have devised several techniques or equipment to keep Astronauts as fit and healthy as possible.

With regards to your last question, i believe that there are yet benefits to be discovered in living with low gravity. If the case was such, i guess it wouldn’t take more than 10 to apply the effect on the Earth, theoretically speaking. A good analogy for low gravity could be floating in the water – after all that’s where the Astronauts train for space even today!