[ExI] Radiation damage could stop manned trips to Mars

[Stephen Van Sickle]

Quick look at the paper.  They expose the mice to the same total energy as
a Mars trip, but
(if my arithmetic is correct) at about 30,000 to 150,000 times the* rate*
of exposure (years worth in minutes).

I would take with a big grain of salt.

On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 1:44 AM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:

> "Space brain" could make manned trips to Mars rather forgettable
> 11 Oct 2016
>
> <http://newatlas.com/cosmic-rays-space-brain-dementia/45840/>
>
> Quotes:
> For astronauts on the ISS, radiation mainly curtails how long and how
> many visits crews can make in a lifetime. But outside of the
> protection of Earth's magnetic field, which means any deep space
> mission, it's another matter. On long missions, including to Mars,
> galactic cosmic rays become a major hazard. These immensely high
> energy charged particles that originate outside the Solar System can
> shoot through spacecraft hulls and passengers as if they aren't even
> there. However, when the heavier of these particles, such as the
> nuclei of oxygen and carbon atoms, strike, they can directly or
> indirectly cause major damage to living tissue.
>
> Limoli says that the symptoms produced would be like dementia and
> would manifest themselves within months of leaving Earth. The
> astronauts would have problems with anxiety, impaired memory, reduced
> ability to multitask, and poor decision making. Worse, the condition
> would continue indefinitely.
>
> Currently, solutions are being sought for the cosmic ray problems, but
> the amount of shielding needed to protect Mars crews would make any
> mission too expensive to mount, and the highly energetic particles
> would still penetrate the hull or cause radiation cascades like a
> shell turning armor plate into shrapnel. With this in mind, the UCI
> team is looking at a medical solution using compounds that could
> scavenge free radicals and protect neurotransmission.
> ---------
>
> Looks like robots will be our space explorers........
>
>
> BillK
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