Can humans journey into deep space without cosmic radiation frying our brains?

Beyond a few brief trip to the Moon over four decades ago , humanity has never stake outside of Earth ’s protective charismatic field . And while it ’s natural to dream of search the stars , such ocean trip may dribble impossibly gamey medical jeopardy .

That ’s the determination of researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center , who have undertaken the latest written report probe how lengthy meter spend in deep infinite could affect human astronauts . The big issue is radiation — without the planet ’s magnetic field of view to act as a shield , astronaut in deep blank would be exposed both to the boisterous vim of solar flare and the persistent hum of what ’s known as galactic cosmic radiation .

Now , solar flares can be dealt with — we might have toground our deep space flightsfor a couple decade when they get really acute , but that ’s not the end of the earth — but it ’s the other , more pernicious radiation that is hard to get the best . prolong exposure to cosmic radiation has previously been linked to increased cancer risk , cardiovascular problems , and musculoskeletal issues .

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But the Rochester study points to perhaps the greatest risk of such prolonged exposure : the degeneration of the head itself . Using the corpuscle accelerator at NASA ’s Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island , mice were exposed to levels of radiation that proportionately equalise what world could expect to play on a three - year round tripper to Mars . The mice were then given a serial of memory tests to cover how their brainpower held up in the wake of such exposure .

The issue were n’t good . Those exhibit to the radiation sickness were significantly more potential than the unexposed control radical to fail tests that calculate on their ability to recall physical object and locations . Worse , these mice ’s brains render clear buildup of the protein genus Beta amyloid — which , in both mouse and humankind , is one of the clearest assay-mark of Alzheimer ’s disease . The discipline suggests the exposed mice — who are a close if not perfect match for human astonauts — get Alzheimer ’s in far greater number than would be expected , and much earlier in life as well .

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Researcher M. Kerry O’Banion does n’t soften parole in saying what this think for future cosmonaut :

“ Galactic cosmic actinotherapy poses a pregnant threat to next astronauts . The possibility that radiation exposure in quad may give rise to wellness problems such as Crab has long been recognize . However , this study shows for the first time that photo to radiation levels tantamount to a mission to Mars could produce cognitive trouble and belt along up changes in the brain that are assort with Alzheimer ’s disease … These findings intelligibly suggest that picture to radiation in space has the potential to accelerate the developing of Alzheimer ’s disease . This is yet another gene that NASA , which is clearly concerned about the wellness risks to its astronauts , will need to take into account statement as it plans future missions . ”

But why would n’t it be possible to shield astronauts from the harmful radiation ? The challenge is that we ’re dealing with high - aggregative , mellow - speed particles generated in the melting pot of supernovas . Unlikely the stray hydrogen protons produced by our Sun ’s solar flares , these particles are so powerful that they can penetrate any received shielding . Dr. O’Banion and his team used iron particle , and he leave a sense of just how far we would have to go just to give astronauts a half - comme il faut shot of surviving a abstruse space missionary work without long - term cognitive trouble :

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“ Because Fe molecule pack a bigger wallop it is highly hard from an applied science view to efficaciously shield against them . One would have to fundamentally wrap a spacecraft in a six - invertebrate foot block of lead or concrete . ”

Admittedly , in the weightlessness of space , that amount of shielding would n’t really forestall the effective functioning of a starship , but it would almost certainly imply we could n’t set in motion such a craft from Earth . If these neurological risks really are this knockout , we might be committed to set up such heavy - shielded cunning in Earth ’s orbit — itself a immense engineering task that ’s probably at least a distich decennary away from being doable .

Indeed , it ’s also potential that our discernment of Alzheimer ’s disease and various cancers could progress to the point that we would be able-bodied to effectively manage or perhaps even cure astronauts ’ later medical problems . But if these studies suggest anything , it ’s that our next giant saltation into space — including planned mission to an asteroid in 2021 and Mars in 2035 — will require several ordination of magnitude more knowhow than our trips to the Moon , and not just in terms of spaceship - building . Otherwise , astronauts will be forced to face their greatest trial and make their bad forfeit long after they deliver from Mars .

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