Space travel not only leads to muscle and bone loss. Neurological damage is also a threat, as researchers at the University of Munich have discovered. What that means for long-term missions.
Elon Musk dreams of a flight to Mars. The billionaire once said that he wanted to die on the red planet. Not only Musk wants to move interplanetary, a whole colony is to be created on Mars. Such projects not only leave many practical questions unanswered, it is also unclear how long stays in space affect human health. A work by researchers led by the Munich neurologist Peter zu Eulenburg raises the possibility that the brain could be damaged by spending several months in space. The investigation was in the trade journal Jama Neurology published.