Human Kidneys Can’t Survive A Flight To Mars
A manned mission to Mars is one of the scientific community’s long-term goals, which is planned to be realized over the next 10 years. Completing this task may be complicated by a recent study by scientists from University College London, which found that human kidneys will not survive such a long stay in outer space under the continuous influence of weightlessness and radiation.
According to them, human kidneys will not withstand such a long stay in space. Prolonged stay in a state of weightlessness and exposure to radiation will simply kill them. Scientists came to this conclusion after biomolecular, physiological and anatomical experiments and simulation of long-term stay in space on mice and rats.
The study revealed that the structure and function of the kidneys will be irreversibly changed during a flight to Mars. The problem can only be solved by developing new ways to protect this organ. Moreover, we are talking about both technical means and medicines. Otherwise, upon return, astronauts will become deeply disabled and will not be able to live without dialysis, said Dr. Keith Sue.
At the same time, the details of the new scientific work raise great doubts that such a situation will even happen. Firstly, people on a real flight to Mars will not be in weightlessness for the entire two years of the expedition: the flight there will last no more than four months. Consequently, the astronauts will remain in complete weightlessness for a maximum of a third of the entire trip.
