Lunar soil is dangerous for people, according to a new study
by scientists at the University of Stony Brook, with the assistance of
NASA. Particles of regolith – a superficial loose layer of lunar soil –
cause mammalian cells to mutate, which causes serious diseases.
The danger of lunar soil for the human body is known since the time
of the lunar missions “Apollo”. Electrified small particles of regolith
easily adhered to spacesuits and landing modules. In contact with the
lunar soil, astronauts experienced strong tearing, sneezing and
coughing.
Therefore, scientists decided to test how the lunar soil affects
people and animals. Mouse and human cells were exposed to artificial
moon dust and watched what was happening.
The results showed that the soil is dangerous for living cells. Both
mouse and human cells after contact with regolith either died or mutated
by changing DNA.
It turned out that lunar dust has the property of creating free
radicals. These active molecules take the missing electrons from the
complete molecules, which themselves become unstable. Aggressive
oxidation, which triggers free radicals, leads to cell damage and
disruption of normal biochemical processes.
Such changes can lead to threatening illnesses and even death.
However, the experiment is not completely reliable. The lunar soil
used in the study was created artificially, and the cells were outside
the body.
In the plans of scientists – to check the effect of this lunar soil on living organisms.
Tags
Space
