Exposure to galactic cosmic radiation in space is believed to significantly damage gastrointestinal tissue. Damage which, in the long term, could cause cancer.
If you plan to go into exile soon on the planet Mars, a study of NASA risks calling this project into question. Researchers at Georgetown University’s Medical Center (Washington, USA) have analyzed the consequences of the different radiations to which astronauts are subjected in space on their gastrointestinal tract – or digestive tract.
And the results are pessimistic: they would promote the risk of cancer while today, scientists have not yet found how to protect astronauts from this heavy ionizing radiation. The results of the study are published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).
Tumor formation
On Long Island (New York), at NASA’s Space Radiation Laboratory, researchers used mice to carry out their experiment. These were subjected to low doses of heavy ionic radiation and gamma rays. By comparing these mice to others, not exposed, they could see the damage caused by these rays.
Exposure to gamma rays did not have much effect on cells in the small intestine. However, the heavy ionizing rays completely wreaked havoc on the cells. In some mice, the researchers also found that changes in the small intestine could lead to the development of cancerous tumors. According to Kamal Datta, one of the main authors of the study, astronauts who make so-called “short” trips, such as going to the moon for example, would not be exposed to these dangers.
Understanding the effect of space on the body
It is already known that astronauts lose muscle and bone mass when they go into space. Last year, a study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has proven how long stays in space modified the brain. Studying all these health impacts is a huge playground, but also a challenge. Because the objective, for science, is to be able to prolong as much as possible the stays of human beings in space, at a time when traveling on Mars is no longer a science fiction theme, but a project. Like SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who promises to send the first human beings to Mars within a few years.
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