The first spaceman heading to Mars will venture further than any human being before them , and should any of them encounter medical problems on their journey – perhaps “ cosmic kidney disease ” or a bacterial infection – they will be almost entirely alone to carry on with them . add up to those challenges , a new survey has identified another problem ; medications contribute along on the delegation will expire before the spaceman yield to Earth .

On the International Space Station ( ISS ) , astronauts have admission to a variety of medication that can be replenish by resupply mission if eat or expired . However , a misstep to Mars will take around nine months each way , with an extra three month pass on the Red Planet waiting for Earth and Mars to be in a suitable position for the regaining journey . That’s21 monthsin total , with no newfangled supply .

NASA does not routinely disclose medication used on the ISS , but the fresh study ’s authors used a Freedom of Information Act Request to incur a list , assume that a Mars - bound mission would have a similar stock . The investigator , from the Duke University School of Medicine , then assessed how long each drug would be expected to last in its original promotional material . This too stir a trouble , as ledge - living are ground on the drugs being kept in their original packaging , but drug station to the ISS are repackaged before launch .

On top of that , we do n’t have it off how long these drugs last in blank . It ’s possible that they will degrade more quicklydue to radiation .

The good news is that the shortest ledge life ( for an ophthalmic lubricant ) is 18 month , posing a " minimal risk of infection " for extended missions to the Moon – but for longer delegacy , astronauts could see their drug become less in effect .

" Using the upper limit label ledge - life across all seed for each medication , we see that 14 medications will die by 24 months : one ophthalmic lubricant , one innovative life documentation medicine , one anaphylaxis discussion medication , one benzodiazepine , one antiangina medication , two corticosteroids , one local anaesthetic , one topical urinary jelly , two antibiotic , one antipsychotic , one inhaler , and one auricle wax removal medicine , " the squad writes in their subject . " Furthermore , over one-half [ … ] of the entire 2023 ISS formulary will expire by 36 months . "

Using more materialistic idea of efficacy establish on each medication ’s minimum label shelf - living , 97.8 pct of medications taken aboard the ISS snuff it within 36 months .

Drug manufacturers check the effectiveness of their medication up to the exhalation date , but beyond that , they may become less effective .

“ It does n’t necessarily mean the medicines wo n’t work , but in the same way of life you should n’t take decease medicine you have lying around at dwelling house , quad geographic expedition agencies will call for to design on expire medicament being less efficient , ” Daniel Buckland , help prof in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine and aerospace medicinal drug researcher said in astatement .

" Ultimately , those responsible for for the health of spaceflight crews will have to find ways to extend the expiration of medications to the complete mission duration , " the team concluded , " or live with the elevated hazard link up with administration of an expired medicinal drug . "

The bailiwick is published in the journalnpj Microgravity .