Report: NASA needs better handle on health hazards for missions to Mars
NASA needs to get cracking if it wants to keep its astronauts alive and well on missions to Mars.
That's the conclusion of a 54-page report issued by NASA's inspector general office Thursday.
The office conducted an audit of NASA's effort to keep astronauts safe during lengthy space missions. The audit looked in particular at the risks posed on trips to Mars, currently targeted for the 2030s. Among the health hazards for three-year, round-trip Mars missions: space radiation, isolation, and limited food and medicine.
The agency is investigating the effects of space travel on the human body with a series of experiments it is conducting with -- and on -- space station commander Scott Kelly and his twin brother, former astronaut Mark Kelly. Scott is in the middle of nearly a full year in space aboard the ISS and just set the U.S. record for most consecutive days in space. The results of his tests will be compared to those from his brother, here on Earth, to see the variable impacts of life in microgravity.
In August, the ISS crew munched on the first lettuce grown in space, a step on the way toward creating a sustainable food source far from the Earth's fertile surface.
The report says NASA is making progress in identifying and managing health risks. But it says NASA is optimistic in thinking it can resolve all the issues by the 2030s. As a result, the first astronauts who fly to Mars may need to accept extra risk.