El estudio, que se realizó en células de ratón, analizó el impacto de la radiación espacial y ayudará a los científicos a apreciar mejor la seguridad y los riesgos de los viajes espaciales.

Un equipo internacional de científicos realizó un experimento a largo plazo a bordo Estación Espacial Internacional Investigar el efecto de la radiación espacial en células madre embrionarias de ratón. Su investigación ayudará a los científicos a evaluar con mayor precisión los riesgos y la seguridad de la radiación espacial para futuros vuelos espaciales tripulados.

El equipo publicó recientemente sus hallazgos en la revista Helión.

Los investigadores cuantificaron directamente el efecto biológico de la radiación espacial en su estudio transfiriendo células madre embrionarias de ratón congeladas desde la Tierra a la Estación Espacial Internacional, exponiéndolas a la radiación espacial durante cuatro años y midiendo el efecto biológico evaluando las aberraciones cromosómicas. . Los resultados de su experimento muestran, por primera vez, que el efecto biológico de la radiación espacial está estrechamente alineado con las predicciones previas derivadas de la medición física de la radiación espacial.

Células madre embrionarias de ratón congeladas se enviaron desde la Tierra a la Estación Espacial Internacional, se almacenaron durante un período de tiempo prolongado, se recuperaron en la Tierra y se examinaron en busca de aberraciones cromosómicas. Crédito: Takashi Morita, OMU

Ahora que la gente común puede viajar en el espacio, la perspectiva de largas misiones humanas a planetas distantes como la Luna y[{” attribute=””>Mars is growing. However, space radiation continues to be a barrier to human exploration. In-depth research has been done by scientists to measure the physical doses of space radiation and better understand how it affects the human body. However, since most previous studies were done on the ground rather than in space, the findings were subject to uncertainty, given that space radiation consists of many different types of particles with varying energies and astronauts are continually irradiated at low dosage rates. On Earth, the space environment cannot be precisely reproduced.

“Our study aims to address the shortcomings of previous ground-based experiments by performing a direct quantitative measurement of the biological effect of space radiation on the International Space Station and comparing this real biological effect with physical estimates in the ground-based experiments,” said Takashi Morita, a professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University. “The findings contribute to reducing uncertainties in risk assessments of human space flights.”

The team prepared about 1,500 cryotubes containing highly radio-sensitized mouse embryonic stem cells and sent them to space. Their study was complex in its scope, with seven years of work before launch, four years of work after launch, and five years for analysis. “It was difficult to prepare the experiment and to interpret the results, but we successfully obtained quantitative results related to space radiation, meeting our original objective,” said Professor Morita.

Looking ahead, the researchers hope to take their studies a step further. “For future work, we are considering using human embryonic stem cells rather than mouse embryonic stem cells given that the human cells are much better suited for human risk assessment, and it is easier to analyze chromosome aberrations,” said Professor Morita.

Future studies might also include launching individual mice or other experimental animals to analyze their chromosome aberrations in space. “Such experiments in deep space can further contribute to reducing uncertainties in risk assessments of prolonged human journeys and stays in space,” concluded Professor Morita.

Reference: “Comparison of biological measurement and physical estimates of space radiation in the International Space Station” by Kayo Yoshida, Megumi Hada, Akane Kizu, Kohei Kitada, Kiyomi Eguchi-Kasai, Toshiaki Kokubo, Takeshi Teramura, Sachiko Yano, Hiromi Hashizume Suzuki, Hitomi Watanabe, Gen Kondoh, Aiko Nagamatsu, Premkumar Saganti, Francis A. Cucinotta and Takashi Morita, 17 August 2022, Heliyon.
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10266

The study was funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Japan Space Forum, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.