Toxic dust on Mars would present serious hazard for astronauts
Toxic dust on Mars would make a future mission to the red planet extremely hazardous for astronauts and require significant countermeasures, new research suggests.
Substances such as silica, gypsum, perchlorates and nanophase iron oxides contained in Martian dust could have life-threatening effects on members of a potential Mars mission, according to a study published in the journal GeoHealth last month.
"The biggest danger is the risk to astronauts’ lungs. Since the dust is so fine, it is expected to remain in astronauts’ lungs and some of it will be absorbed into the bloodstream," study co-author ethena Justin Wang, a medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), told CNN on Wednesday.
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