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Space Radiation Linked to Cancer Risk in Astronauts
Confirmed
In Short: According to Oren Milstein, CEO of StemRad, a single major solar particle event can deliver more than one-third of NASA’s 600 millisievert career effective-dose limit, which corresponds to a 3% mortality risk from radiation-induced cancer.
The complexity of the radiation environment in deep space poses a significant challenge for human space exploration, according to a recently published Radiation White Paper by the European Space Agency (ESA).
One of the major hurdles is the exposure to space radiation, which can lead to detrimental health risks and electronics damage.
To address this, StemRad Radiation Protection developed the AstroRad vest, which was tested during the uncrewed Artemis I flight in 2022.
The vest, designed to shield astronauts from harmful radiation, was shown to reduce the effective dose by around 60% in an August 1972-type scenario and by almost 40% for a 1989-type solar particle event.
The AstroRad vest uses varying thicknesses of shielding throughout the garment to protect organs that are more sensitive to radiation, such as breasts, colon, lungs, ovaries, stomach, and red bone marrow.
The vest allows astronauts to move around the cabin and continue mission-critical tasks, providing a similar level of protection to the most robust shelter configuration.
The findings suggest that the AstroRad vest could significantly reduce the radiation dose astronauts might receive during deep space travel.
In addition to physical protection, a study presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2026 Annual Meeting found that psychotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD) within a month of cancer diagnosis was associated with a 21% reduced risk of cancer-specific mortality.
Fumiko Chino, MD, a radiation oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, emphasized the importance of individualizing depression management in cancer care.
These advancements in radiation protection and mental health care aim to ensure the safety and well-being of astronauts during long-duration space missions.
What this adds
The AstroRad vest was tested using numerous radiation dosimeters placed in and on phantoms to compare the received radiation dose.
The vest was tested alongside a companion phantom that did not wear the vest, allowing for direct comparison of radiation exposure.
Background
The study also found that depression was least common among patients with prostate cancer, but these patients showed the highest risk for cancer-specific mortality.
What's confirmed
- In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. npj Microgravity volume 9, Article number: 8 ( 2023 ) Cite this article Human spaceflight is entering a new era of sustainable human space exploration.
- International space agencies are entering a new phase of sustainable human and robotic exploration of space Beyond Low Earth Orbit (BLEO).
- The complexity of the radiation environment in deep space adds complexity to the overall risk assessment for human BLEO spaceflight, and the recently published Radiation White Paper 1 by the European Space Agency (ESA) assesses such challenges.
- In planning these undertakings, several challenges will need to be addressed in order to ensure the safety of astronauts during their space travels.
- One of the important challenges to overcome, that could be a major showstopper of the space endeavor, is the exposure to the space radiation environment.
- There is an urgent need for quantifying, managing and limiting the detrimental health risks and electronics damage induced by space radiation exposure.
- Such risks raise key priority topics for space research programs.
- Risk limitation involves obtaining a better understanding of space weather phenomena and the complex radiation environment in spaceflight, as well as developing and applying accurate dosimetric instruments, understanding related short- and long-term health risks, and strategies for effective countermeasures to minimize both exposure to space radiation and the remaining effects post exposure.
- The ESA/SciSpacE Space Radiation White Paper identifies those topics and underlines priorities for future research and development, to enable safe human and robotic exploration of space beyond Low Earth Orbit.
- “As providers, we have a lot of things that we want to get through in a cancer consult visit. I would stress for us to take a pause, too, and think about the whole patient, mind-body, as well as their cancer treatment,” Qiao told Medscape Medical News.
- Although depression was least common among patients with prostate cancer, these patients showed the highest risk for cancer-specific mortality.
- “The key finding that I thought was fascinating was that psychotherapy seemed to have more positive effects across broader populations and that it was really underutilized compared to medications,” Chino, radiation oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told Medscape Medical News.
What's still developing
- Numerous radiation dosimeters placed in and on the phantoms allowed the received radiation dose to be compared.
- “Exposure to radiation in space is unavoidable, and a single major solar particle event (SPE) can deliver more than one-third of NASA’s 600 millisievert career effective-dose limit. A three-year round trip to Mars would equal or exceed the career limit, which corresponds to a 3% mortality risk from radiation-induced cancer. So we developed the AstroRad vest to significantly reduce this hazard,” explains immunologist Oren Milstein, CEO of StemRad Radiation Protection, which began developing the vest with Lockheed Martin in 2015.
- Space travel: the health effects of space radiation and building a lunar GPS Combining these results with those from previous experiments, which tested the vests’ ergonomics on the International Space Station, is allowing the researchers to improve comfort and ease of motion, and reduce mass.
- Yet, research suggests that mental health treatment remains underutilized among patients with cancer and comorbid depression.
- Fumiko Chino, MD, who was not involved in the study, said the findings highlight important next steps for improving cancer care to ensure patients are fully supported during their diagnosis.
- “The take-home message is that we believe that a greater individualization of depression management in cancer is necessary,” Qiao said.
- The type of cancer, prognosis, and treatment course can affect a patient’s mental health needs as well as which interventions might be the most beneficial, he noted.
- NASA is sending missions deeper into space, requiring some assistance for astronauts.
- They found systemic spikes in TNF-, as well as heightened activity of anti-death genes that were triggered as part of the radiation cascade.
- Deep space travel comes with a huge potential downside - radiation exposure that can kill an astronaut either quickly or slowly over time if not managed correctly.
- But what exactly does that mean, and is there any way to handle it other than sticking more and more protective layers between the squishy biological systems inside a spacecraft and the radiative void of deep space?
- A new paper from researchers at Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas Health Science Center hopes to answer both questions, and while the causes of radiation they point out are complex, they also offer some potential solutions as well.