Findings of UCI study have implications for astronauts on extended spaceflights

What happens to an astronaut’s brain during a mission to Mars? Nothing good. It’s besieged by destructive particles that can forever impair cognition, according to a UC Irvine radiation oncology study appearing in the May 1 edition of Science Advances.

– Mars Brain animation






Similar types of more severe cognitive dysfunction are common in brain cancer patients who have received various photon-based radiation treatments at much higher doses. In other research, Limoli studies the impact of chemotherapy and cranial irradiation on cognition.

While cognitive deficits in astronauts would take months to manifest, Limoli said, the time required for a mission to Mars is sufficient for such deficits to develop. People working for extended periods on the International Space Station do not face the same level of bombardment with galactic cosmic rays, as they are still within the protective magnetosphere of the Earth.

The irradiated particles that compose these galactic cosmic rays are mainly remnants of past supernova events.


But what can be done to protect astronauts speeding off to the red planet?

As a partial solution, Limoli said, spacecraft could be designed to include areas of increased shielding, such as those used for rest and sleep. However, these highly energetic particles will traverse the ship nonetheless, he noted, “and there is really no escaping them.”

Preventative treatments offer some hope. “We are working on pharmacologic strategies involving compounds that scavenge free radicals and protect neurotransmission,” Limoli said. “But these remain to be optimized and are under development.”

Republished with permission from UCI News

Vipan Kumar Parihar, Barrett Allen, Katherine Tran, Trisha Macaraeg, Esther Chu, Stephanie Kwok, Nicole Chmielewski, Brianna Craver, Janet Baulch and Munjal Acharya of UCI and Francis Cucinotta of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas contributed to the study, which NASA supported through grants NNX13AK70G, NNX13AD59G, NNX10AD59G and NNX15AI22G.