On 12 Feb 2005 11:04:27 -0800
wrote:

Working in a factory (like the ones where many Chinese female workers
work), sniping, living in micro-G enviroment and operating things do
no require a strong and resistant creature.

But going to mars actually requires somebody physically small and able to live on smaller quantities of oxygen, food, etc.

More women would satisfy this requirement than men, so using Grigoryev's own argument it should be women going to Mars.

Being strong is handy sometimes, but you have to keep all that muscle tissue alive for the whole trip, and they are not exactly going to have to get out and push.

Even if I had the money to buy a ticket on Soyutz I couldn't go because I am 193 cm tall. I remember seeing an exhibition of Soviet space hardware here about 20 years ago. They had an early pressure suit on display and I wondered if it was a half size mock up. They must have searched the USSR for short, lightweight pilots to put into those early spacecraft.

Incidently I see a connection here with the thread on emergency return from a stranded shuttle at ISS. Do some people fly on shuttle who could never fit into a Soyutz seat?
--
Michael Smith
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