Mars-Bound Astronauts Face Chronic Dementia Risk From Galactic Cosmic Ray Exposure
Monday, October 10, 2016 - 04:48
in Astronomy & Space
Will astronauts traveling to Mars remember much of it? That's the question concerning University of California, Irvine scientists probing a phenomenon called "space brain." UCI's Charles Limoli and colleagues found that exposure to highly energetic charged particles - much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays that will bombard astronauts during extended spaceflights - causes significant long-term brain damage in test rodents, resulting in cognitive impairments and dementia.