Well, the article doesn’t tell exactly/all that they were looking for.
I agree that there are ‘stupid and useless’ studies; but science builds on science - and often in the process of looking for something, we find something else that happens to be useful or intriguing, and shoots us off into new directions.
I wouldn’t judge a study like this without reading the proposal/protocol and then the assessment of results.
...wanted to know how space radiation affects fertility in mammals.
Next paragraph:
NASA and other space agencies are developing systems that could support humans on monthslong journeys to other solar system destinations such as the moon and Mars, and radiation is a big concern.
Stupid, worthless study, considering that "space radiation" (aka cosmic rays & solar radiation among geeks & scientists) are overwhelmingly shielded by Earth's magnetosphere, especially in LEO.
I've been consistent in my statements that any attempt to visit Mars with our current technology will be a one way trip, that it's a fool's errand until we transcend chemical rocketry propulsion to both shorten transit time and permit enhanced shielding of deep space radiation.
In the meantime, if they REALLY wanted to learn about cosmic radiation, LEO is the dumbest place to be. Morons.
We need a Moon laboratory for multiple scientific missions, including the study of harvesting H3.