Could stasis work on long space trips?

This is also called suspended animation or hibernation, and it is a science fiction plot device to enable people to travel long distances without aging. It has been used in many books, movies and TV series. I've even used it in my stories. But, is such a thing possible?

First of all, this idea is pure fiction. No one has been able to put a human into suspended animation. Most science fiction plots don't really go into how this would be achieved. It's simply used in the plot.

Some notable stories that include stasis include: Sleeping Beauty and Snow White; Rip Van Winkle; 2001: A Space Odyssey; Aliens; Avatar; Interstellar; The Empire Strikes Back; and some episodes of Star Trek.

Hibernation is the closest thing to suspended animation that we are aware of, but it only happens with some animal like bears, squirrels, other rodents, hedgehogs, and some marsupials. The fat-tailed dwarf lemur of Madagascar is the only known primate to hibernate.

Hibernation is a method for animals to survive the winter when food is scarce. They typically eat enough food to form reserves of fat for a long winter's nap in which their pulse, breathing and other metabolic processes slow down. This usually involves a lower body temperature to conserve energy.

Some species of geckos can survive being frozen and then reanimated when warmed up. However, their blood contains large quantities of glucose that acts like antifreeze, which means that their cells and blood stay liquid. If cells are frozen they are destroyed. We humans could not survive with antifreeze in our blood. We would be poisoned by it.

Hibernation involving humans is only in the experimental phase, and in many cases was accidental. Humans have survived being in a cold environment from hours to even days and lived, but that is a far cry from what would be needed to achieve suspended animation.

Induced hypothermia has been used in open-heart surgeries, but a heart-lung machine is used to oxygenate the blood and it only works for a short time before tissue damage sets in.

Obviously, induced suspended animation would require some very sophisticated drugs, but in any possible use of this idea, scientists will need to find a method of preventing cellular damage. Human body cells don't like to be cold or frozen. One way that has shown limited success with rodents is the use of hydrogen sulfide at a low concentration. For some reason 30 parts per million of this normally poisonous gas allowed survival at cold temperatures. This would probably not work well with humans because hydrogen sulfide causes brain damage.

The goal of hibernation is to keep humans from using oxygen, energy and, even more important, having mental breakdowns on a long spaceflight. The idea is to suspend any aging effects and still preserve health. This is a tall order, but it will be necessary if humans are to travel long distances at below light speed.

The bottom line is that suspended animation is a fantasy at this time. A lot more research must be done to find a way to make humans hibernate for a long space flight. Frankly, I would prefer some faster than light idea and just provide plenty of beer.

Thanks for reading.