Radiation risk could be fatal for Mars astronauts

Space radiation would be likely to kill or severely weaken astronauts long before they reached Mars, a Nasa study suggests.

Research has found that the assault on space travellers’ intestines would form at least as big an obstacle as the technological challenge. The exposure would be likely to result in long-term functional impairments, such as ineffective nutrient absorption, or cancer. Scientists exposed mice to low doses of electrically charged ion particles, one of the most harmful forms of galactic cosmic radiation.

Intestinal cells from the mice failed to absorb nutrients adequately and formed cancerous polyps.