Cyborgs and Space L1.2 Altering man's bodily functions to meet the requirements of extraterrestrial environments would be more logical than providing an earthly environment for him in space ... Artifact-organism systems which would extend man's unconscious, self-regulatory controls are one possibility By Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline This article is based on a paper presented under the title of "Drugs, Space and Cybernetics "at the Psych ophysiologica I Aspects of Space Flight Symposium sponsored by the AF School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Tex., in May. The complete paper appeared in the Symposium proceedings, published by Columbia Univ. Press. Manfred E. CIynes has since 1956 been chief research SPACE travel challenges mankind not only technologically but also scientist at Rockland State, in spiritually, in that it invites man to take an active part in his own biological charge of the Dynamic evolution. Scientific advances of the future may thus be utilized to permit Simulation Lab. A graduate of man's existence in environments which differ radically from those the Un iv. of Melbourne, provided by nature as we know it. Australia, and bolder of an M.S. from Juilliard School, he has for The task of adapting man's body to any environment he may the past 10 years been engaged choose will be made easier by increased knowledge of homeostatic in the design and development functioning, the cybernetic aspects of which are just beginning to be of physiological instrumentation understood and investigated. In the past evolution brought about the and apparatus, ultrasonic altering of bodily functions to suit different environments. Starting as of transducers, and electronic now, it will be possible to achieve this to some degree without alteration data-processing systems. of heredity by suitable biochemical, physiological, and electronic modifications of man's existing modus vivendi. Nathan S. Kline has been director of research at Rockland Homeostatic mechanisms found in organisms are designed to State since 1952 and an assistant provide stable operation in the particular environment of the organism. professor of clinical psychiatry Examples of three successful alternate solutions provided by biological at the Columbia Univ. College mechanisms to the body-environment problem with regard to operating of Physicians and Surgeons temperature are man, hibernating animals, and poikilothermic fish since 1957. Author of more than (organisms with blood that take on the temperature of the environment). 100 papers, Dr. Kline holds a New York Newspaper Guild Various biological solutions have also been developed for Page One Award in science, the another problem-respiration. Mammals, fish, insects, and plants each have Adolph Meyer Award of the a different solution with inherent limitations but eminently suitable for Assn. for Improvement of their field of operation. Should an organism desire to live outside this Mental Health, and the Albert field, an apparently "insurmountable" problem exists. Lasker Award of the American Public Health Association. However, is the problem really insurmountable? If a fish wished to live on land, it could not readily do so. If, however, a particularly intelligent and resourceful fish could be found, who had studied a good deal of biochemistry and physiology, was a master engineer and cyberneticist, and had excellent lab facilities available to him, this fish could Repritiled fro m ASTRONAUTICS, Scptember, 1960) 29/ only temporizing, and dangerous temporizing at that, since we place ourselves in the same Position as a fish /30 taking a small quantity of water along with him to live on land. The bubble all too easily bursts. The biological problems which exist in space travel are many and varied. Long-term space voyages, involving flights not of days, months or years, but Possibly of several thousand years, will eventually be hard realities, and resultant physiological and psychological conditions must be considered. These are reviewed below. In some cases, we have proposed solutions which probably could be devised with presently available knowledge and techniques. Other Solutions are projections into the future which by their very nature must resemble One of the first Cyborgs, this 220-gm rat science fiction. To illustrate, there may be much more has under its skin the Rose osmotic pump (shown efficient ways of carrying out the functions of the in close-up below), designed to permit continuous respiratory system than by breathing, which becomes injections of chemicals at a slow controlled rate cumbersome in space. One proposed solution for the into an organism withOUt any attention on the not too distant future is relatively simple: Don't part of the organism. breathe! If man attempts partial adaptation to space conditions, instead of insisting on carrying his whole environment along with him, a number of new possibilities appear. One is then led to think about the incorporation of integral exogenous devices to bring about the biological changes which might be necessary in man's homeostatic mechanisms to allow him to live in space qua natura. The autonomic nervous system and endocrine glands cooperate in man to maintain the multiple balances required for his existence. They do this without conscious control, although they are amenable to such influence. Necessary readjustments of these automatic responses under extraterrestrial conceivably have the ability to design an instrument conditions require the aid of control theory, as well as which would allow him to live on land and breathe extensive physiological knowledge. air quite readily. In the same manner, it is becoming apparent Cyborg-Frees Man to Explore that we will in the not too distant future have sufficient knowledge to design instrumental control What are some of the devices necessary for -systems which will make it Possible for our bodies creating self-regulating manmachine systems? This to do things which are no less difficult. self-regulation must function without the benefit of The environment with which man is now consciousness in order to cooperate with the body's concerned is that of space. Biologically, what are the own autonomous homeostatic controls. For the changes necessary to allow man to live adequately in exogenously extended organizational the space environment? Artificial atmospheres encapsulated in some sort of enclosure constitute CLYNES & KLINE complex functioning as an inte- The combination of an osmotic grated homeostatic system un- pressure pump capsule with sensing Psycho-Physiological consciously, we propose the term and controlling mechanisms can form Problems "Cyborg." The Cyborg deliberately a con-tinuous control loop which will Let us now turn our attention to incorporates exoge-nous components act as an adjunct to the body's own some of the special physiological and extending the self-regulatory control autonomous controls. In this manner, psychologi-cal problems involved in function of the organism in order to these controls can be changed to the space travel, and see how Cyborg dy- adapt it to new environments. desired per-formance characteristics namics may help achieve better If man in space, in addition to under various environmental condi- understanding and utilization of flying his vehicle, must con-tinuously tions. If these characteristics were man's natural abilities. be checking on things and making determined, such a sys-tem would be adjustments merely in order to keep possible today with the selection of Wakefulness. For flights of himself alive, he becomes a slave to appro-priate drugs. relatively short or moderate du- the ma-chine. The purpose of the Cy- ration-a few weeks or even a few borg, as well as his own ho-meostatic For example, systolic blood months-it would appear desirable to systems, is to provi-de an pressure may be sensed, com-pared keep the astronaut continuously organizational sys-tem in which such to a reference value based on the awake and fully alert. The extension robot-like problems are taken care of space conditions en-countered, and of normal functioning through the automatically and unconsciously, regulated by letting the difference use of that group of drugs known as leaving man free to explore, to between sensed and reference psychic energizers, with ad-junctive create, to think, and to feel. pressures control administration of medication, for this purpose is a an adrenergic or vasodilator drug. Of present-day real-ity. In flights lasting One device helpful to con- course, any such system presupposes a month or two, no more than a few sideration of the construction of that we would be cognizant of what hours a day of sleep would be requir- Cyborgs, which is already a-vailable, optimum blood pressure would be ed in the normal environment if such is the ingenious osmo-tic pressure under various space conditions. drugs were employed. Tests indicate pump capsule de-veloped by S. Rose efficiency tends to increase, rather for conti-nuous slow injections of While it is quite difficult to set than decrea-se, under such a regime, bio-chemically active substances at a up per limits to "natural" human and extended usage appears entirely biological rate. The capsule is physiological and psy-chological feasible. incorporated into the organism and performance, we can take as minimal Radiation Effects. One sub- allows administration of a selected the capabilities demonstrated under system of the Cyborg would involve drug at a particular or-gan and at a control conditions such as yoga or a sensor to detect radia-tion levels continuous vari-able rate, without hypnosis. The imagination is and an adaptation of the Rose any attention on the part of the stretched by the muscular con-trol of osmotic pump which would organism. which even the under-graduate at a automatically inject pro-tective Yoga College is capable, and pharmaceuticals in ap-propriate Capsules are already avail-able hypnosis per se may prove to have a doses.