Astronaut-manned missions to Mars could prove fatal as the journey could lead to organ failure, research has found.
Although not considered one of the major dangers of galactic travel, a trip as far as Mars could bring on kidney failure, a paper in Nature Communications journal has indicated.
Cosmic radiation, known as Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) could cause the damage.
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GCR are high-energy particles usually absorbed by the Earth’s magnetic field, and which protect us on Earth, reports Newsweek. They also partially shield astronauts in low-Earth orbit.
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Astronauts would be exposed to a large amount of GCR while on the two-year round trip to the Red Planet.
Study co-author Keith Siew, researcher at University College London’s Department of Renal Medicine said: “If we don’t develop new ways to protect the kidneys, I’d say that while an astronaut could make it to Mars they might need dialysis on the way back.
“We know that the kidneys are late to show signs of radiation damage, by the time this becomes apparent, it’s probably too late to prevent failure, which would be catastrophic for the mission’s chances of success.”
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While it is known space travel can bring on a number of health issues, only the very small proportion of astronauts who have travelled to the moon have been exposed to the brunt of GCR. As a result, little is known about how GCR impacts the body — until this paper shed some light on the matter.
Researchers analaysed samples from humans and mice from more than 40 low-Earth missions, and tested the effects of a Mars mission-level dose of GCR on mice and rats.
The team discovered that space conditions “remodelled” the kidneys in both mice and humans, which changed the way kidneys processed salts and increased the likelihood of kidney stones.
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Scientists believe the changes made be due to the effects of microgravity, or a combination microgravity and GCR. The study also found that mice kidneys were permanently damaged after they were exposed to equivalent conditions to a Mars round trip.
Siew said: “We know what has happened to astronauts on the relatively short space missions conducted so far, in terms of an increase in health issues such as kidney stones.
“What we don’t know is why these issues occur, nor what is going to happen to astronauts on longer flights such as the proposed mission to Mars.”
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