What Are the Effects of Space Radiation?
The energy that ionizing radiation loses as it travels through a material or living tissue is absorbed by that material or living tissue. The ionization of water and other cell components can damage DNA molecules near the path the particle takes – a direct effect of which is breaks in DNA strands including clusters of breaks near one another; breaks that are not easily repaired by cells. Such DNA break clusters are much less frequent, or do not occur at all, when cells are exposed to the types of radiation found on Earth. Because it can disrupt an atom, space radiation also can produce more particles, including neutrons, when it strikes a spacecraft or an astronaut inside a spacecraft – this is called a secondary effect. Future research will develop the knowledge to understand how initial damage to DNA and cells from heavy ions relates to increased risks for cancer or other health effects, and how biological countermeasures to such risks can be developed. How Much Space Radiation Do As
