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Space is dangerous for humans
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Scientists are concerned about upcoming flights to Mars – in their opinion, a person who has made such a journey is threatened with serious changes in the brain. Scientists have made such conclusions after studying rodents whose brains were affected by high-energy particles, similar to those found in cosmic rays.
Cosmic rays permeate spacecraft and astronauts during long-term voyages, and the new study is a follow-up to work last year that looked at the short-term effects of cosmic rays on the brain.
According to the latest data, cosmic rays are dangerous for people, their particles can negatively affect the nervous system and lead to changes, some of which do not go away until the end of life, in particular, a trip into space can end in memory impairment, anxiety, severe depression, and decreased productivity.
During the experiments, rodents were irradiated with charged particles, then observed in the laboratory. As a result, after half a year, strong changes were detected in the brain of the subjects - neurons were damaged, the brain was inflamed. Tomography showed that the reduction of processes and spines caused changes in the neural network of the brain, as a result, signal transmission was disrupted in the cells of the brain. All this provoked low productivity in learning and memorization.
The study was conducted by Charles Limoli and colleagues, who also found that cosmic ray exposure can cause a suppression of unpleasant and stressful associations, similar to those that occur when re-learning to swim after an accident. All of this could contribute to anxiety, which would be a problem during a long trip to the red planet. It is worth noting that the results obtained after a six-month study are consistent with those from last year (then the study lasted 1.5 months).
Similar cognitive impairments are seen in brain cancer patients who have undergone high-dose photon irradiation. Professor Limoli and his colleagues have also studied how cognitive processes change after chemotherapy and brain irradiation.
According to the professor, the astronauts will show signs of dementia within a few months of the start of the journey, and since the journey to Mars is planned to take several years, scientists fear that problems will begin to bother the astronauts directly during the mission.
Scientists also noted that space station personnel are not in danger because they are protected by the magnetosphere.
The work of Limoli and his colleagues is extremely important for the future of human space exploration. NASA programs include studies that study the effects of cosmic radiation on humans, since the data obtained will be used to plan space travel, not only to Mars but also beyond.
Professor Limoli noted that some possible solutions to the problem are already being developed, in particular, the inclusion of zones of increased protection during sleep or rest, but high-energy charged particles will penetrate the ship and blocking them is currently not possible.
Limoli's team, in turn, is working on a drug that would protect the brain from negative cosmic radiation.