- By Ajeet Kumar
- Mon, 31 Mar 2025 02:56 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found five big dangers that could make sending people to Mars tricky. These problems include space rays, mental stress, and the body’s struggle with long space trips. The US space team is working on ways to lower these risks, showing that going to Mars needs more than just big dreams, it takes careful planning too.
The human body was not built for spaceflight, with its microgravity conditions, exposure to high-energy radiation and other issues. As a result, trekking beyond the Earth's confines causes many physiological changes that affect an astronaut's health.
Huge distance
According to NASA, Mars is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth. Rather than a three-day lunar trip, astronauts bound for Mars would be leaving our planet for roughly three years.
Given this distance, planning and self-sufficiency will be essential to successful missions to Mars. Facing a communication delay of up to 20 minutes one way, the possibility of equipment failures or medical emergencies, and a critical need to ration food and supplies, astronauts must be capable of confronting an array of situations with minimal support from teams on Earth.
Risk of cancer
Unlike on Earth, where the atmosphere and planetary magnetic field provide a shield from space radiation, astronauts are exposed to high-energy radiation permeating the cosmos. This can lead to DNA damage, increased cancer risk, neurodegenerative effects, cardiovascular issues and immune system dysregulation.
Earth's magnetosphere - the region of space dominated by the planetary magnetic field - provides some protection for astronauts in missions in low-Earth orbit. But astronauts travelling beyond that - such as on missions to the moon or Mars- would experience much higher radiation doses.
Psychological challenges
The human body evolved over millions of years to function optimally in Earth's environment, which includes its gravity, atmospheric composition and relatively low levels of radiation. Space travel exposes people to quite a different environment, posing a range of physiological and psychological challenges, especially with prolonged exposure, according to Afshin Beheshti, director of the Center for Space Biomedicine at the University of Pittsburgh. As researchers seek new countermeasures to protect space travellers, more data is needed on astronauts with varying health backgrounds and undertaking different kinds of missions in order to map out personalised risk profiles and mitigation strategies, according to Chris Mason, a professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
Cardiovascular system undergoes major changes
Gravity plays a critical role in regulating bodily functions. Its absence triggers widespread physiological adaptations, according to Beheshti. Without gravity, bodily fluids shift upward, leading to facial swelling and increased intracranial pressure, which can affect vision. The lack of mechanical loading on bones and muscles associated with the downward pull of gravity leads to bone density loss and muscle atrophy.
In addition, the cardiovascular system undergoes major changes, including difficulty regulating blood pressure upon return to Earth. Prolonged exposure to microgravity conditions also affects vestibular function - the inner ear's ability to sense movement and orientation. That can cause balance and coordination issues.
Interpersonal conflicts
Long-duration space missions require astronauts to live in confined and isolated environments with limited social interaction and exposure to natural stimuli.This, according to Beheshti, can lead to psychological stress, sleep disturbances, cognitive performance declines and mood disorders. The effects of prolonged isolation and close-quarters living among astronauts - during stints aboard space stations or longer future missions to destinations like Mars - could aggravate interpersonal conflicts, further impacting mental well-being and mission performance.