A Brief List of Horrifying Things Space Travel Does to the Human Body

The effects of space travel on the human body are not just rough, they are downright frightening.

There are many ways being off world can mess with one's body according to a recent study. The freakiest effects of space are categorized by a multi-institutional cohort of researchers.

There's weird dust in space — and nobody knows what it does

A huge amount of research has been done over the past 60 years about how space affects the body. Space travelers can get grody particulate matter out in space, but it can also get into their lungs on other planets and moons.

There is a chance that exposure to lunar and other heavenly bodies' dust could lead to serious health effects, according to a risk assessment published last summer.

The biggest challenge for long-duration spaceflight could be extraterrestrial dust.

The health consequences of space dust exposure seem to be a relatively new concern and further research is required to identify the long term consequences of extraterrestrial dust exposure.

Space travelers' DNA can mutate, potentially put them at risk for cancer

Recent studies suggest that space radiation can cause genetic changes that can lead to cancer in astronauts.

A study out of Mount Sinai Hospital's Icahn School of Medicine in New York found a lot of different variations in the astronauts' genomes.

According to the school's press release, TP53 is one of the most frequently altered genes in acute myeloid leukemia.

The Cells paper notes that there's an urgent need for more research about these effects, and it's especially important for people with certain genes.

Microgravity seems to harm the immune system and activate latent viruses

Studies done over the last decade have shown that the microgravity environment can have a negative effect on the immune system.

The risk of mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr Viruses, which are activated by spaceflight. The University of Texas determined in 2012 that the virus reactivates during spaceflight, with saliva levels ten times those observed before and after the flight.

According to the 2012 paper published by the Journal of Cellular Biology, other factors such as radiation and microgravity have been speculated to contribute to reactivation in space.

The Cells paper suggests that the immune suppression affect and strange spacebacteria may compound the issue further.

The paper states that the space environment appears to be more resistant to antibiotics and more harmful than on earth. We have not yet discovered novelbacteria species.

According to NASA, astronauts will get pregnant in space.