Lady Stardust

 

Malcolm Smith - Universe Science Fiction, 1953

Study finds women astronauts more efficient, suggests future spaceflight with all female crews.

Researchers from the Space Medicine Team, European Space Agency in Germany have conducted a study published in Scientific Reports that found female astronauts have lower water requirements for hydration, total energy expenditure, oxygen (O2) consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) and metabolic heat production during space exploration missions compared to their male counterparts.

In the study, "Effects of body size and countermeasure exercise on estimates of life support resources during all-female crewed exploration missions," the team utilized an approach developed to estimate the effects of body "size" on life support requirements in male astronauts. For all parameters at all statures, estimates for females were lower than for comparable male astronauts.

When considering the limited space, energy, weight, and life support systems packed into a spacecraft on a long mission, the study finds that the female form is the most efficient body type for space exploration.

And everybody, no doubt, will leave the seat down.