NASA’s Apollo astronauts, the only humans to have traveled beyond Earth’s protective magnetosphere, die disproportionately of heart and blood vessel diseases, researchers said on Thursday, blaming radiation.
This raises health concerns for all humans with dreams of traveling to the moon, Mars or beyond, as space agencies and private companies vie to expand humankind’s extraterrestrial footprint.
“We know very little about the effects of deep-space radiation on human health, particularly on the cardiovascular system,” Michael Delp of the Florida State University said. “This gives us the first glimpse into its adverse effects on humans.”
Of seven Apollo astronauts to have died to date, three (43 percent) succumbed to cardiovascular disease — a group of ailments that includes heart attacks, brain aneurysms and strokes.
This was “four to five times higher” than for trained astronauts who never left Earth (9 percent) and those like the International Space Station crews who stayed closer to home in low-Earth orbit (11 percent).
The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“These data suggest that human travel into deep space may be more hazardous to cardiovascular health than previously estimated,” the researchers wrote.
NASA’s Apollo program sent 11 manned flights into space between 1968 and 1972.
Of the 24 men who flew beyond Earth orbit into deep space, eight have died to date. The eighth, Edgar Mitchell, passed away this year, after the data had been analyzed, and was not included in the study.
Beyond the magnetosphere, a magnetic “bubble” that shields Earth and its occupants, the Apollo astronauts were exposed to unprecedented levels of particle radiation, the study said.
Energetic particles from galactic radiation can be dangerous to humans as they pass right through the skin and can damage cells or DNA, according to NASA.
The agency has plans for a manned trip to Mars in the 2030s and has stated that radiation shielding “will be a crucial technology” for the voyage, as well as for exploring the surface.
The study was the first to include non-flight astronauts as a comparison group in examining the long-term health of space travelers.
Comparing astronauts to the general population can yield confusing outcomes, as they are generally better educated, fitter and have life-long access to medical care.
In comparing different types of astronaut, the researchers were able to exclude any possible impact of zero-gravity on cardiovascular disease, as all three groups (Earth-bound, low-orbit and deep space) were exposed to it.
The researchers also found no difference between the three groups in terms of cancer or accidents as the cause of death.
To test a possible cause for lunar astronauts’ higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, the team exposed mice to comparable radiation levels in the lab.
“After six months — the equivalent of 20 human years — the mice demonstrated an impairment of arteries that is known to lead to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in humans,” a Florida State University statement said.
“What the mouse data show is that deep-space radiation is harmful to vascular health,” Delp added.
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