The Real Cost Of A Trip To Mars: Is It Worth ?

At the 67^th International Astronautical Congress, and Elon Musk had revealed the SpaceX's indentations of colonization of mars and build a city on mars. Elon Musk and SpaceX are not the only ones planning such an expedition, Boeing, and NASA are in the race too.

But what is the cost of a trip to mars? Not financially but healthwise. There are millions of volunteers who are ready for a one way trip to mars. There are people who don't mind dying on or on the way to mars. But it is still worth knowing what will a trip to mars cost.

Scientists at the University of California-Irvine have conducted a study to research a condition they call as "space brain." Astronauts will be exposed to high energy cosmic rays with charged particles that represent a GCR. Since the particles are high energy they would easily penetrate the spacecraft and enter the tissues of the human body.

The real cost of a trip to mars could be a long term cognitive dysfunction if the results of recent experiments on the rodents are to be believed. Rodents exposed to cosmic radiation exhibit performance decrements pertaining to persistent hippocampal and cortical functions.

"Exposure to these particles can lead to a range of potential central nervous system complications that can occur during and persist long after actual space travel," said UCI professor of radiation oncology, Charles Limoli, as reported in Cnet.

The irradiation also caused significant reductions in spine density, dendritic complexity, and altered spine morphology. Cosmic radiation also disrupted synaptic integrity and increased neuroinflammation that persisted more than 6 months after exposure.

The real cost of a trip to mars would also be a decreased "fear extinction." The Astronauts who return from mars would not be able to overcome simple fears arising out of an untoward incident. Although amid all these rising fears about irradiations, Elon Musk,said, The radiation thing is often brought up, but I think it's not too big of a deal."

With a long way to go before a trip to mars becomes a reality it would be in best interests of mankind to figure out the real cost of a trip to mars.