NASA to study how long stay in space affects human body

New Delhi : Humans going to Mars may soon become a reality; a round trip to the Red planet can be done in a time span of about three-years. But is it safe for human bodies to stay in space for this long duration? NASA scientists are finding the answers for it.

"To draw any conclusions about the cumulative effects of exposure to space, we need to observe more astronauts spending larger amounts of time in the space environment," said John Charles of the Human Research Programme at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The new research by NASA will help in safer and more efficient space travel in coming days.

The US space agency hopes that such research will help it understand, prevent, diagnose, treat, mitigate and cure the potential health effects of prolonged spaceflight.

"Scientists can use the information to predict physical and behavioural health trends," Charles said.

NASA plan for safe space travel

The US space agency has asked for proposals with a maximum time grant of seven years. As per guidelines proposals should be submitted in accordance to a robust programme that could include as many as 30 astronauts - 10 to conduct shorter missions of up to two months, 10 as part of standard six-month missions, and 10 for one-year missions in space.

"When the day comes for humans to launch on a journey to Mars, humanity will take another giant leap. The knowledge gained from this research could give NASA a running start," the US space agency said.