Mars Astronauts Could Suffer Brain Damage From Cosmic Rays

Beyond the protection of Earth’s magnetic field, charged atomic nuclei whiz through space at nearly the speed of light. This radiation is one of NASA’s biggest concerns as it considers manned missions to Mars. And a new study on mice finds that exposure to the equivalent of a few weeks of space radiation made them perform poorly on tests of learning and memory, and visibly damaged their brain cells. Radiation in Deep Space Cosmic rays are a form of ionizing radiation. This means tha