Summary
New research shows that long term spaceflight might permanently damage a human’s kidneys. This new work shows that an astronaut going to Mars might even need dialysis on the way back. Our kidneys are responsible for cleaning out our blood and regulating the amount of fluid in our bodies.
Astronauts are losing extra calcium from their bones weakening. They are also having a harder time than usual getting rid of that excess calcium in their kidneys. It’s yet unclear why these particular changes are happening, but the authors postulate that changes in blood pressure might be putting extra strain on the kidneys.
