NEW YORK: Scientists with the University of California, in Irvine, have been looking into the potential effects of space travel as we approach the pending mission to Mars.
The new study suggests that astronauts may suffer brain damage over the course of the long flight through space from Earth to the Red Planet. They propose that this trip might expose astronauts to a great deal of radiation which could definitely result in brain damage and damage to the central nervous system.
Cancer researcher Charles Limoli, of the University of California-Irvine, comments, “Upon penetrating the body, these charged particles leave tracks of damage on the same scale as neurons. So we reasoned that [cosmic] irradiation might elicit long lasting structural changes in neurons that would lead to cognitive impairment.”
Limoli goes on to say, “This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two-to-three-year round trip to Mars. Performance decrements, memory deficits, and loss of awareness and focus during spaceflight may affect mission-critical activities, and exposure to these particles may have long-term adverse consequences to cognition throughout life.”
