Mars Astronauts Risk Brain Damage Says New Study

We know that the magnetosphere of the Earth protects us all from all sorts of damaging radiation that comes from the sun and other celestial bodies in space. In fact we have known for years that astronauts on missions to Mars would face much higher risks for cancer. A new study reports that the astronauts on future Mars missions may also face brain damage in addition to increased risk of cancer.

The study used rodents and exposed the rodents to charged particles and then analyzed the results of the experiments. The scientists found that the rodents in the experiments had brain damage, neural inflammation,and impaired memory among other issues.

"This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two-to-three-year round trip to Mars," Charles Limoli, a professor of radiation oncology at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, said in a statement. "The space environment poses unique hazards to astronauts. Exposure to these particles can lead to a range of potential central nervous system complications that can occur during and persist long after actual space travel – such as various performance decrements, memory deficits, anxiety, depression and impaired decision-making."

Researchers note that the radiation led to more anxiety as the rodents in the tests had their sense of "fear extinction" affected. Fear extinction is a process that helps humans to reduce and control their fears that are associated with past events. This fear extinction reduction could mean astronauts feel more fear.

"Deficits in fear extinction could make you prone to anxiety," Limoli said in the statement, "which could become problematic over the course of a three-year trip to and from Mars."

The catch now is that these tests have only involved rodents. What happens to mice in testing won't necessarily happen to humans traveling in space. Still, this sort of issue isn't something that researchers can use humans to test and if manned missions are to take place some sort of solution to this potential problem will need to be devised.

SOURCE: Fox News