Astronauts of the future spending long periods of time on the moon could suffer from bronchitis and other health problems by inhaling tiny particles of lunar dust, a study indicates.<\/p>\n
Simulated lunar soil is toxic to human lung and mouse brain cells. Up to 90 percent of human lung cells and mouse neurons died when exposed to dust particles that mimic soils found on the moon\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
The results show that breathing toxic dust, even in minute quantities, could pose a health hazard to future astronauts travelling to the moon, Mars, or other airless planetary bodies<\/a>.<\/p>\n Space agencies already knew that exposure to the space environment and zero gravity can be harmful to human health, but planetary dust poses an additional risk that has been mostly overlooked.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are risks to extraterrestrial exploration, both lunar and beyond, more than just the immediate risks of space itself,\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n said lead author Rachel Caston, a geneticist at Stony Brook University School of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lunar dust caused reactions similar to hay fever in astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo missions. Their experience coupled with the new results suggests prolonged exposure to lunar dust could impair airway and lung function, says Bruce Demple, a biochemist and senior author of the study.<\/p>\nPlanetary Dust Risks<\/h2>\n