The technological challenge of getting to Mars may seem like a huge hurdle but it may be biology that holds humanity back from venturing to the Red Planet.
Astronauts could develop irreversible dementia on their journey because their brains are being bombarded with destructive space radiation, scientists fear.
The University of California found that exposure to highly energetic charged particles - much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays – can cause significant damage to the central nervous system, resulting in brain impairments.
"This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two to three year round trip to Mars," said Charles Limoli, professor of radiation oncology in UCI's School of Medicine.
"Performance decrements, memory deficits, and loss of awareness and focus during spaceflight may affect mission-critical activities, and exposure to these particles may have long-term adverse consequences to cognition throughout life."
At its closest orbit Mars is around 34,000,000 miles from Earth and it takes between 150 and 300 days to reach the Red Planet depending on speed of launch. It means that simply travelling there and back could see astronauts being subjected to dangerous radiation levels for nearly two years.
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