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Mars Trips May Involve Less Radiation Exposure Than Previously Thought

posted by mrpg on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-are-we-waiting-for? dept.

SoyCow1984 (from IRC) writes:

Mars trips may involve less radiation exposure than previously thought:

There's no question that the first human mission to Mars will be extremely dangerous. Some studies have suggested that the radiation levels would exceed the maximum career dose for a given astronaut, greatly increasing the risk of cancer and other illnesses. It might not be quite so bad as it sounds, though. Newly presented ESA ExoMars orbiter data indicates that astronauts would receive "at least" 60 percent of their maximum recommended career radiation exposure on a round trip to Mars that takes six months both ways. That's still several times what ISS crew members receive, but it's relatively gentle compared to what some had feared.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:00PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:00PM (#737525)

    I'm pretty sure that's a 3% risk of dying from radiation exposure (with a 95% confidence interval?), which includes a lot more than cancer - two slides down they mention acute radiation syndrome, degenerative tissue effects, and cardiovascular and central nervous system risks.

    You may be making an incorrect distinction here, cancer is now thought to be many diseases rather than a single disease. Radiation syndrome, degenerating tissue/organs, heart attacks, and alzheimers/parkinsons/etc are may all be different manifestations/symptoms of cancer.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:12PM (2 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:12PM (#737562)

    *may* be. As in, also may not be. My distinction stands until further evidence proves otherwise.

    Killing and injuring a bunch of random cells with radiation can be pretty damaging all on it's own, they don't need to start self-replicating uncontrollably for it to be a problem.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:16PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:16PM (#737635)

      Its going to require more cell divisions than otherwise would have been necessary to repair the damage. More cell division -> cancer

      • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:02PM

        by Immerman (3985) on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:02PM (#737665)

        No, more cell division increases the risk of cancer - but is not itself cancer. Most cell lines die from other problems long before they become cancerous.