Travel to space may be harmful to brain: Study

ROCHESTER, New York

As if space travel was not already filled with enough dangers, a new study shows that cosmic radiation, which would bombard astronauts on deep space missions to places like Mars, could accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

While space is full of radiation, the earth’s magnetic field generally protects the planet and people in low earth orbit from these particles.

However, once astronauts leave orbit, they are exposed to constant shower of various radioactive particles.

With appropriate warning, astronauts can be shielded from dangerous radiation associated with solar flares. Because this radiation exists in low levels, the longer an astronaut is in deep space, the greater the exposure.

This is a concern for NASA as the agency is planning manned missions to a distant asteroid in 2021 and to Mars in 2035.