Space travel: kidneys would not survive Mars mission due to cosmic radiation
Humanity has yet to return to the moon, but the focus is already on Mars. Missions there pose a serious health risk.
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The cosmic radiation on a three-year mission to Mars is strong enough to permanently damage the kidneys of astronauts and rob them of their function. This was suggested by an extensive study on space travelers and laboratory animals, the results of which have now been published. This represents a serious hurdle for manned flights to the Red Planet, the researchers write. But it is only with knowledge of the risks that it is possible to work on possible solutions. If no new ways are found to protect the kidneys during a flight to Mars, the outward flight could still be successful, but the crew would need dialysis on the return flight at the latest, says lead author Keith Siew from University College London.
Not the first health risk
It has been known for over 50 years that flights into space can cause health problems, the team recalls. These include the formation of kidney stones. At the same time, however, almost all space travelers were still protected by the Earth's magnetic field during their missions. Only the 24 space travelers who were on or near the moon were directly exposed to cosmic radiation - but only for a few days at a time. What happens to human organs during longer missions has therefore not been extensively researched. To investigate the expected effects on the kidneys, the international team has now carried out experiments in which laboratory mice on the International Space Station (ISS) were exposed to as much radiation as would be expected on a mission to Mars lasting several years.
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Until now, it had been assumed that kidney stones are formed more frequently during space missions mainly because bone mass is lost in microgravity and calcium accumulates in the urine. The new study now suggests that the functioning of the kidneys is fundamentally altered in space. Shielding would not help against the loss of function caused by cosmic radiation. However, pharmaceutical or technical measures to protect the organs are conceivable. Drugs developed for this purpose could also be helpful on Earth and, for example, ensure that cancer patients can withstand higher levels of radiation. The work is presented in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
The work underlines how many unknowns are still associated with the high-flying plans for manned missions to Mars in the near future. US billionaire and SpaceX boss Elon Musk in particular keeps talking about it and even believes that colonization of the Red Planet is possible in the near future. He does not mention possible obstacles. However, NASA is also already planning manned missions to Mars. Before that, however, humans should settle permanently on the moon. The radiation problem also exists there. But until then, there is still time to develop possible countermeasures.
(mho)
