Ground squirrels live 2-3 times longer than other rodents of their size—and scientists believe this is because of hibernation: A condition of partial torpor that enables the creatures to conserve their biological resources, using even less energy than a coma state. A survival strategy evolved out of deprivation, torpor drops respiration, circulation, and brain activity. Researchers have noted that squirrels interrupt long periods of hibernation with brief periods of activity, like an idling car re-starting itself to preserve battery power, enabling them to maintain their body’s efficiency. It’s a phenomenon that NASA scientists have been studying since the 1960’s, under the theory that astronauts could remain healthier on long missions if they could similarly preserve their lean body mass…and that if spaceships could economize space and fuel by carrying passengers under a hibernation-like state, distant interplanetary travel could become less of a distant possibility.
