biomimicry
Space Exploration: How Giraffe is assisting in our Space Travel
Biologists are convinced that the key to pushing the boundaries of our exploration lies with Mother Nature, which is termed today as biomimicry. If we can decode her secrets, it might allow us to take the next big step in evolution.
Exploration is the lifeblood of every living creature on Earth.
Over 3.8 billion years, evolution has shaped all walks of life. The need to explore has propelled nature into every corner of the globe to colonize even the most hostile places.
We have yet to devise an efficient way to move around space, let alone make it to Mars within a reasonable time.
So, getting humans to touch anything other than Earth and the moon will be one of the most significant achievements in human history for space exploration.
We’d be looking at how one of the most alien-looking creatures on the planet is helping with space exploration.
Why have they evolved to have this strange body, and how have they adapted to cope?
Giraffes have one of the strangest body plans of any animal on the planet, and what should naturally happen next when a giraffe lowers its head to drink water should be disastrous.
But after taking a gratifying sip of water, the giraffe raises its head again and begins to wander around its home.
Why would such a simple act of drinking water be disastrous?
When you first see a giraffe, you’d assume they have more neck bones, but like humans, they’ve got the same 7 cervical vertebrae. The only difference is that theirs are more extensive, about 11 inches long.
It’s more like a ladder for their heads to reach the vegetation other animals can’t.
Isn’t that one hell of an advantage?
A giraffe’s heart is much like ours; although 40 times larger, it performs the task of pushing blood under pressure through the body. (The highest blood pressure in the animal kingdom) to ensure that blood reaches all our extremities.
Now visualize the blood flow.
It is a considerable distance for blood to be pumped to the brain, so the blood pressure is reduced once it reaches the giraffe’s head.
What happens when the Giraffe dips its head to drink?
The heart no longer opposes gravity, which helps blood to flood into the giraffe’s head, increasing the blood pressure in the brain to dangerous levels.
This is similar to closing a container and continuously increasing the internal pressure. The whole thing explodes, but for a giraffe, that’s nothing to worry about.
It comes down to the complex network of arterioles and small veins found in its neck. Also, studies show that the blood vessels of a giraffe have certain elastic qualities, allowing dynamic expansion and contraction to respond to changes in blood volume induced by the giraffe.
In addition to the expansion, the rete mirabile acts like a sponge, containing the extra blood going to the head, resulting in an accumulation of blood. When a giraffe lifts its head back up, this blood can go through to the brain and prevent the giraffe from fainting or getting light-headed on the way up.
Since the giraffe is such a tall animal (about 17 ft on average), the blood vessels in the giraffe’s long legs are under tremendous pressure.
The skin around a giraffe’s legs and neck is very tight as a defense.
Humans have been limited by their skin in pushing our physiology regarding the rigours of space flight. Our physiology just isn’t adapted to the extremes of space, in particular the extremes of gravity.
We’ve evolved to deal with the constant 1 g here on Earth. That’s the force gravity exerts on everything on the planet, and it’s what keeps our feet planted firmly on the ground.
But astronauts have to deal with two opposite extremes: up to 6 g on take-off and landing, and close to 0 g when they’re in space.
If we want to take that giant leap to become planet-hopping space explorers, we may have to deal with even greater forces.
With really high g-forces, your blood starts to drain from your head and creates a pool in your lower extremities, which can lead to fainting and, in a worst-case scenario, death.
Imagine if there was a way to borrow from the Giraffe’s elegant and complex design to make life easier for humans under high g-force stresses.
You get the G-raffe suit, developed by G-Nius Pte. Ltd.
Yes, the giraffe inspired the name.
Acronyms for G-Reliable, Advanced Fast Fighter Equipment.
Based on the giraffe’s neck muscle principle, which allows its neck muscle to tighten around the veins and limit the blood flow that goes down to the brain, which helps keep blood flowing to the brain and prevents blood pooling in the legs.
How did these traditional G-suits differ from what you’re trying to make with the giraffe suits?
Usually, humans can survive about 5g without a special suit on, but with a type of G-suit, humans can tolerate even higher g-forces.
With a G-suit, only the lower portion of the body is compressed, while that of a G-raff is an entirely compressed suit.
The G-raff company uses a fabric that tenses around the body, which keeps it under pressure.
The entire body is so compressed, and the muscles are so well supported that pilots can do maneuvers that they could not do physically without it.
With the G-raff suit on, a German pilot who tested the apparatus could make it up to a little past 9–11 g’s in the centrifuge.
To prove his cognitive abilities were 100% okay, he then proceeded to take a Rubik’s cube from his flight suit and solve it while experiencing 9 Gs'.
This principle of body compression has many applications and could be applied to space travel.
Some will ask, all from an animal. Maybe from a highly complex giraffe.
