Question: Will your muscles deteriorate if you go into space for one day?

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  1. Probably not enough that you would notice.

    The reason that muscles deteriorate in space is that they are adapting to the lower gravity. Because there is less gravity, smaller muscles can do the job and the body does not keep large muscles around for the sake of it because they use more energy than smaller ones.

    Muscle atrophy (muscle wasting) occurs from the unnecessary muscle tissue being broken down by the body. This process is continuous, but relatively slow and with only one day is space it your muscles would begin the process but not get very far.

    However, on your return to Earth you will certainly still feel weak. The brain will adapt to low gravity within minutes and learn to use small forces to lift things. So when you get back to Earth your brain will still be used to using small forces and so suddenly having to use big forces because of Earth’s gravity will feel heavy.

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