03. Is it easy to become dehydrated in space? How often should a person drink? About how much water would each person need per day? (NP) (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

On Earth, gravity pulls the fluids in your body downward, away from the sensors in your heart and lungs that detect how well hydrated you are. Millions of years of evolution have adjusted those sensors to this one-gravity balance of fluids in the body. In space, where there is no apparent gravity, the fluids shift back up towards these sensors, which are fooled into thinking you have too much water in you, and therefore tell your kidneys to start getting rid of it. To prevent dehydration under these circumstances, astronauts should drink whenever they feel thirsty, just as they do on Earth.

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Answer provided by Charles Camarda, Ph.D. & Nicholas Patrick, Ph.D. & Dr. Jonathan B. Clark

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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