Posted on 04/10/2025 7:12:21 PM PDT by Red Badger
Martian dust may be more harmful to astronauts than the trip itself. (Photo by StudyFinds on Shutterstock AI Generator)
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In a nutshell
Martian dust poses serious health risks, especially to astronauts’ lungs, with particles small enough to penetrate deep into the respiratory system and potentially cause irreversible diseases like silicosis and aplastic anemia.
The dust is chemically hazardous, containing reactive compounds like perchlorates, silica, nanophase iron, and trace toxic metals that can disrupt thyroid function, damage tissues, and even increase infection risk due to weakened immune defenses in space.
Prevention is critical, as many dust-related conditions have no cure. Protective technologies like dust-repelling suits, habitat filters, and nutritional countermeasures are essential to keep astronauts safe on a multi-year Mars mission.
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LOS ANGELES — NASA wants to put boots on Mars in the coming decades. But before the first astronauts take that historic step, scientists are warning about an overlooked threat that could derail these ambitious plans: the dust covering the Martian surface.
A new scientific review in the journal GeoHealth warns that the fine particles blanketing Mars might seriously harm human explorers. The medical researchers, aerospace engineers, and planetary scientists from various American universities behind the study draw worrying connections between what happened to Apollo astronauts exposed to lunar dust and what future Mars travelers might experience, potentially with far worse consequences.
According to the authors, Mars dust particles are worryingly small, highly oxidative, and packed with chemicals that could damage the human body, especially the lungs. Unlike Earth dust, which gets worn down by wind and water, Martian particles have remained sharp and irregular, making them perfect for penetrating sensitive tissues.
The Apollo missions offered an early warning about space dust problems. Astronauts who visited the Moon complained about irritated eyes, sore throats, and coughing fits after dust stuck to their spacesuits and contaminated their living spaces. But those missions lasted just days.
Mars expeditions would be different, stretching for months or years with ongoing dust exposure. What’s more, the 40-minute communication delay between Earth and Mars means medical emergencies would need handling without immediate help from mission control. This isolation makes both the chances and consequences of dust-related illnesses much worse.
What Makes Mars Dust Toxic
What exactly makes Mars dust so dangerous? Based on rover and orbiter data, scientists have identified several harmful components. These include perchlorates (oxygen-rich compounds), silica, iron-rich particles, and gypsum, plus smaller amounts of potentially toxic metals including chromium, beryllium, arsenic, and cadmium.
Perchlorates might be the most immediately concerning. These chemicals, found all over Mars, can interfere with thyroid function by competing with iodide, potentially causing aplastic anemia, where the body stops producing enough new blood cells. In one Earth-based case, a patient given high doses of perchlorate developed severe anemia that led to infection susceptibility. Despite treatment with steroids and antibiotics, the patient died from a lung infection.
Nearly half of Mars dust consists of silica, which on Earth is known to cause silicosis, an incurable lung disease that progressively scars lung tissue. The Martian silica particles measure about 3 micrometers across, small enough to bypass the body’s defenses and reach deep into the lungs, where they trigger inflammation and scarring.
The iron compounds that give Mars its reddish color create another health threat. When these particles contact human tissue, they generate reactive oxygen species that damage cells. The excess iron might also make infections worse, as many disease-causing bacteria use iron to multiply inside the human body, particularly troubling since spaceflight already weakens astronauts’ immune systems.
Mars also experiences planet-wide dust storms that dramatically boost airborne particle levels. During these events, visibility drops to almost nothing while dust concentration in the atmosphere rises dramatically. Such conditions would make avoiding exposure nearly impossible during surface operations.
The vast distance from Earth magnifies these health risks. Apollo astronauts could head home quickly if they got sick, but Mars-bound crews would be committed to their mission for its entire duration, potentially two to three years. This reality makes prevention the main strategy, with treatment limited to whatever medications and equipment traveled from Earth.
Better spacesuit designs with self-cleaning abilities, robust air filters in habitats, and electrostatic devices to repel dust should form the first line of defense. For any dust that gets through, dietary supplements like potassium iodide might help protect against perchlorates, while vitamin C could offer some defense against chromium toxicity.
Unfortunately, many potential dust-caused diseases, especially silicosis and other forms of lung scarring, have no effective treatments beyond supportive care. This is why preventing exposure matters so much.
Most of these diseases target the breathing system, potentially causing different types of restrictive lung disease. Combined with the increased radiation during deep space travel and the body changes caused by low gravity, Mars dust could create a perfect storm of health problems.
Planning for Safety: The Road to Mars
As NASA’s Artemis program works to build a lasting human presence on the Moon, these lunar missions will test technologies for Mars trips, including dust protection systems. Additionally, the Mars Sample Return mission, though currently being reevaluated, could bring actual Martian material to Earth labs as early as the mid-to-late 2030s, allowing scientists to study the dust’s properties and toxicity directly.
For now, the authors stress that while human exploration of Mars represents an extraordinary potential achievement, it also brings unprecedented health challenges. Meeting these challenges will require experts across many fields, from geology and engineering to medicine and toxicology, working together to ensure astronauts can explore Mars safely. As we prepare to send people farther from Earth than ever before, addressing these risks is essential for keeping crews alive.
Fishing sucks on Mars, anyway.
Kind of like Iraq. My lungs have never been the same. Stupid Sand Hole.
Well, at least there’s no asbestos on Mars.
Poor Ahnold. He had no recall.
Yep, sometimes it got so bad they had issues finding the fires.
With 200,000+ leaf blowers daily it’s like a toxic soup from everything imaginable decaying and rotting on the ground being blown into the atmosphere. And like the old days with smog, the mountains surrounding S.CA area hold much of the dust and particles.
I’m surprised the leftist in CA have not outlawed the blowers
First, the picture is upside down, Second the sloth isn’t green, only the algae growing on its fur is.
I am aware....
The article cites perchlorates being oxygen-rich compounds. Well gee, let's develop a way to convert that to the oxygen gas that's currently lacking in Mars' atmosphere. Silica is basically glass in it's rawest form; iron-rich particles are girders waiting to happen. The ice caps and underground permafrost are believed to hold enough water to sustain a decent-sized colony at the very least.
Once the robots have these projects going and an underground base excavated we send humans for long-term stays. With enough determination, patience and God's grace to withhold our seeming drive to kill each other off we can get this done and make it reality in a few short generations.
science.
Mars is idiotic. Settle and mine the Moon first. Moonbase Alpha! (Pro tip: this time don’t store nuclear waste there)
You missed the joke?
Nope. I did.
Getting Biden in my old age.
🙄
A lack of breathable air can cause lung problems.
Someone remind me, what is the real point of going other than to stroke some egos?
And suck up lots of tax dollars of course.
Like they did in the Star Trek movie?
In a few billion years, our Sun will expand, and we have to leave.
Mars is not our new, permanent home, but we could use it. Two of the many dangers/situations we have to deal with are gravity and radiation. Our Earthly Van Allen radiation belts keep the Sun from cooking us, and everything else.
Mars has no such protection, so walking on the surface is a nonstarter. We will live underground.**
Gravity. If you watch the astronauts who spend 6-12 months in space, they cannot walk out of the return capsule. They are placed on what looks like recliners. To compensate, our travels in space will need gravity. Spinning all or part of the vehicle is one method.
**underground on Mars. Most of what Elon Musk does is focused on Mars, and then further into space. This was really obvious once it was explained with one of his other endeavors - The Boring Company. We cannot reside on the Martian surface, so boring underground is necessary. There are also underground lava tubes that might be useful.
Musk’s main speech is about spreading consciousness to other planets, space stations, etc. There may have been other entities that achieved consciousness, but never left their planet.
When I talk with family and friends about all of this, they sometimes mention God / Christ intervening before the Sun expands. I tell them “I do not know God’s will.” I know how we are supposed to act/be. Other than that, all that God has in mind will eventually be revealed. In the meantime, we need to cherish what we have, and use all the tools provided to explore and survive.
Or send the Replicants.
Like Morlocks?
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