Orion Space Capsule’s Role in Understanding Health Risks on Extended Space Missions
The upcoming Artemis III mission, scheduled for December 2025 and utilizing the Orion space capsule, marks a historic return to the moon’s surface. (Photo: spacecampturkey)
Orion Space Capsule’s Mission to the Moon Raises Health Concerns for Future Space Travel
According to source, the upcoming Artemis III mission, set for December 2025, is poised to mark the first human presence on the moon’s surface since 1972, utilizing the Orion space capsule. As humanity prepares for longer spaceflights, including potential trips to Mars, scientists are investigating the impact of space conditions on human health, with a recent NASA-funded study suggesting that exposure to high levels of galactic cosmic radiation, associated with space’s background of highly energetic particles, and the microgravity of space may impair vascular tissues, leading to erectile dysfunction in astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule.
The research indicates that such dysfunction may persist even after astronauts return to Earth in the Orion space capsule, prompting the need for close monitoring of sexual health in returning astronauts.On Earth, humans are shielded from cosmic radiation by the planet’s magnetosphere, but astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) receive significant exposure.
The upcoming lunar and Mars missions, including those utilizing the Orion space capsule, pose challenges as astronauts will be less effectively shielded. The study, conducted on adult male rats exposed to simulated microgravity and cosmic rays, revealed an increase in oxidative stress, a factor linked to aging and various health conditions.
Orion Space Capsule’s Role in Addressing Erectile Dysfunction for Future Space Travelers
Oxidative stress was found to impair the artery supplying blood to erectile tissue, contributing to dysfunction. While microgravity also had a negative effect, it was less pronounced.The study’s findings suggest that treatment with specific antioxidants could potentially improve tissue function exposed to cosmic rays during missions using the Orion space capsule, offering a potential avenue for addressing erectile dysfunction caused by space conditions.
With manned space missions planned in the coming years, including those using the Orion space capsule, the research underscores the importance of monitoring and addressing sexual health in astronauts upon their return to Earth.
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