Scientist who’ll make sure mankind is fit to land on Mars
GROUND control to Major Tom… a Scottish university graduate is at the heart of a mission to get humankind fit for space travel.
For every six months in space, the cardiovascular system ages around 20 years and Dr Nadia Maarouf has been tasked with finding a solution ahead of longer space missions to Mars.
Now the scientist, who studied clinical pharmacology at Glasgow University, has been undergoing astronaut training while helping to develop ‘smart wear’ technology top to help win this space race against time.
Known as Astroskin, it monitors the vital systems of astronauts, identifying medical problems before they arise.
Dr Maarouf said: ‘The cardiovascular and muscular skeletal systems deteriorate so fast in space and astronauts have to do tasks in a spacesuit, which is very heavy. We have to solve this health issue before sending astronauts to Mars.’
She also hopes it can even be used to help people in remote communities.
‘With this smart garment, astronauts and Earthlings can wear it as a shirt for 30 days and it constantly monitors vital systems while they go about their work,’ she said.
‘If we can use these garments for astronauts that are 300 km away up there, why can’t we use them for everybody here, including those in villages so far away that they can’t even access healthcare?’
Since graduating in 2011, Morocco-born Dr Maarouf has lived in Calgary and carries out research for the Canadian Space Agency at a desert research station.
A finalist in Glasgow University’s 2022 Alumni Award, she plans to carry the university’s flag on her own first space mission. ‘I consider Scotland my second home and I will return soon,’ she said.