As NASA gears up for its mission to Mars in 2030, there are a few health-related issues to watch out for. NASA has confirmed that such multi-year missions can indeed pose a health risk. Astronauts go through many shortcomings once they are in space. One of the few is the problem of bone density depletion. So what’s the fix for this, and how does NASA plan to keep its astronauts healthy during long-range missions? Here’s everything you need to know.
If humans ever want to travel to Mars, they’ll need ways to keep their bones strong in space — lettuce genetically engineered to produce a hormone that stimulates bone formation could help.
— New Scientist (@newscientist) March 23, 2022
Astronauts could one day grow and eat genetically modified plants to ward off diseases associated with long space flights. Researchers have created a transgenic or genetically modified lettuce. This is no ordinary lettuce, as it produces a drug that fights bone density in microgravity. The modified lettuce is a fusion of protein that fuses PTH with a human antibody protein. The fusion protein is made so that it flows into the bloodstream and astronauts can purify the drug from plant extracts.
What leads to bone depletion?
Bones are constantly being balanced between development and resorption, allowing bones to respond to injury or changes in exercise. With more time in microgravity, it disrupts this balance. This is exactly why astronauts produce bone mass. The treatment for this can be done with a drug called parathyroid hormone, also known as PTH. The American Chemical Society, San Diego presented these findings at its spring meeting.