Spacemen - short, fat and bald

By Ben Hurst on Jun 8, 09 10:40 AM

Humans making long space voyages, perhaps lasting lifetimes, would never pass the audition for Star Trek, an expert has claimed.

They would be far too ugly.

Living in permanent microgravity, the first travellers to the stars are likely to end up short, fat and bald, according to astrobiologist Dr Lewis Dartnell.

Growing up in space would leave humans stunted and cause their bones and muscles to be underdeveloped, he said.

Dr Dartnell, from University College London, added: "With little effort required to move around in microgravity and an environment that is never too hot or cold, future spacemen and women are also likely to become pretty chubby.

"Without gravity, fluid would float up to pool in the skull, which would cause the head to look permanently swollen out of proportion. Also, with no need for hair to insulate the head or eyelashes to flick dust from their eyes, future humans may become completely hairless."

Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Dr Dartnell also addressed the question of what aliens on other worlds might look like.

He said: "Certain features of the human body, such as camera-like eyes, head, and legs would evolve time and time again on different worlds, and so many features of alien animals are likely to be instantly recognisable. However other features of life, such as the number of limbs animals develop, or the shape and colour of trees, would be much more variable between worlds."

The Kepler space telescope was launched earlier this year and is expected to find dozens of Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars.

Some of these could host complex life. But even the nearer stars are so far away that travelling to them could take generations.

By the time the first humans arrive on an extra-solar planet, any aliens they meet are likely to find their appearance a shock.