Cosmic radiation and microgravity severely damage this organ.

While billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is busy designing rockets that would take people to Mars, an international team of scientists has studied the negative impact of cosmic radiation and microgravity – and lack of gravity – onto human bodies.

More specifically, they focused on the spaceflight-induced renal dysfunctions or damages taken by our kidneys during long space travel and published the results in the journal Nature Communications.

Scientists have long studied the effects of space on the human bodies, including DNA, heart and blood, bones and muscles, and even the reproduction system – overlooking the kidneys.

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Astronauts do experience currently a variety of health problems during their long stays on the International Space Station (ISS) and yet they are not fully exposed to cosmic rays, because the station is located in low Earth orbit under the protection of the Earth’s magnetic field.

However, even on the ISS, an astronaut receives as much radiation in a year as a nuclear power plant worker in five years.
Now imagine that humans venture in a years long journey to Mars, without gravity or protections against cosmic rays. The doze of radiation will be enormous; they will surely die long before landing there.

Kidney failure might be a major cause of death in space, the team discovered.

In a new study, researchers analyzed kidney function and biomarkers in over 60 astronauts. They also examined the kidneys of rodents that had spent time on the ISS and simulated long space journeys by exposing mice and rats to radiation levels similar to those astronauts would experience on a mission to Mars.

The findings revealed that significant kidney damage can occur in astronauts within less than a month in space. These changes could lead to progressive and irreversible kidney failure, though symptoms might not appear until much later.

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The problem with kidney health is that these organs can lose up to 75% of their function before any noticeable symptoms appear. As a result, astronauts may return to Earth unaware of the damage, only to face irreversible health issues, potentially leading to disability.

Another concern is the heightened risk of kidney stones, which astronauts experience much earlier than kidney failure. Previous research linked this increased risk to bone demineralization caused by microgravity, but scientists now suspect that the gradual development of kidney dysfunction also plays a role. In space, the risk of kidney stones is known to be 14 times higher than on Earth.

These findings are still preliminary, as much of the research has been conducted on rodents in laboratory conditions. If confirmed, long-duration space missions, such as a trip to Mars, may be unfeasible without addressing these kidney-related issues – as well as other health problems.

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One solution might be to develop drugs that mitigate the harmful effects of cosmic rays. Some suggest people can adapt to life in space through hundreds of generations and subsequent transformation into another, radiation-resistant race, which could handle radiation on Mars as well.

So even if Elon Musk designs and builds the right rockets during his lifetime, the best idea is to send robots to Mars as humans’ vanguard. A manned mission to Mars will not be feasible for quite a long time. Not talking about exoplanets.

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