Astronautical Hygiene - Humans in Space - Noise

Noise

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Fans, compressors, motors, transformers, pumps etc. on the International Space Station (ISS) all generate considerable noise. As more equipment is required on the space station, then more noise will be generated.

The Russian space program has never given a high priority to the noise levels experienced by its cosmonauts (e.g. on Mir the noise levels reached 70 - 72 dB. But they were exceeded as new components were brought on board. Such noise levels may cause a temporary reduction in hearing but not a full hearing loss. This could result in hazard warning alarms not being heard against the background noise. To reduce the noise risks NASA engineers are building hardware with inbuilt noise reduction. A depressurized pump producing 100 dB can have the noise levels reduced to 60 dB by fitting four isolation mounts. For future space programs it is essential that the noise levels are reduced. The use of hearing protectors are not encouraged because they block out alarm signals. More research is necessary in this field as well as in other astronautical hygiene areas e.g. measures to reduce the risks of exposure to radiation, methods to create artificial gravity, more sensitive sensors to monitor hazardous substances, improved life support systems and more toxicological data on the Martian and lunar dust hazards.

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Famous quotes containing the word noise:

    I wonder about the trees.
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    So close to our dwelling place?
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    Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation.... Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation.
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    Mother Teresa (b. 1910)