NASA is looking at ways of changing the DNA of its Mars astronauts to protect them from radiation. The US space agency plans its first manned mission in the 2030s but there’s a risk of cancer and dementia from particles that rip DNA apart.
NASA tech boss Douglas Terrier said the crew could be shielded with armour or electromagnetic force field, but these sound impractical. He said: “We’re looking at a range of things from drug therapies to more extreme genetic modification. They have ethical consequences so they’re still in experimental thought stages.”
NASA also hopes to keep astronauts safe by cocooning part of the spaceship in water and using bio-engineering to patch up their bodies’ cells. Dr Terrier said day-to-day running of the spaceship would be handed over to artificial intelligence capable of diagnosing diseases and directing robotic surgery.
However its to be remembered that NASA is trying its level besgt to see how it can discover more planets with earth like features and reports say many tests have been run on mars since it has earth like environments thus making it a great option for discovery as astronauts’s DNA shall be changed.