Scientists believe that humans traveling 40 million miles to Mars could age more quickly than those still living on Earth. They are searching for ways to prevent this from happening.

Experts from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, will study the first all civilian crew to visit the International Space Station next month, before and after their trip.

They look for signs early on of senescence. Senescence is a condition in which a cell stops dividing but does not die.

The crew will be on a 10-day journey to the International Space Station. However, there is hope that they can spot early signs of senescence which could lead to longer-haul trips. 

The Axiom Mission 1 will send former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría to space as commander, alongside three others

The Axiom Mission 1 will send former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría to space as commander, alongside three others

Experts from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, will study the first all civilian crew to visit the International Space Station next month, before and after their trip (Stock image)

Rochester-based experts from Mayo Clinic, Minnesota will examine the first civilian crew that visits the International Space Station in March (Stock photo)

WHAT IS CELL SENSENCE? 

Cellular senescence refers to cell division’s end.

The cell is constantly exposed to stress, damage, and repercussions from many sources. Cells can respond from healing, to death, or even recovery.

Sometimes, a cell will enter a permanent cell-cycle arrest that is termed cellular senescence.

It is here that it remains alive but is unable to reproduce and divide. This means it sits, leaking chemicals linked to inflammation and is not removed from the body.

The process of senescence, which occurs when you are young, alerts your immune system to any damage. The immune system then clears out the affected cells.

As we age, our immune systems lose their ability to eliminate these cells.

These substances build up slowly and can lead to ageing and an increase in the chance of getting a disease. 

The Telegraph was informed by Dr James Kirkland who is the study’s lead.

China and NASA hope to send astronauts to Mars by 2030s. Elon Musk believes that he will reach the Red Planet in this decade. 

Axiom Space will send a team of four civilian astronauts, in a chartered SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station at the end February.

The Axiom Mission 1 will send former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría to space as commander, alongside three others.

The US-based entrepreneur Larry Connor and the non-profit activist investors Mark Pathy are pilots. Eytan Stibbe is an Israeli impact investor. 

The Mayo Clinic team will take blood and urine samples from the four members of the civilian crew, and hunt for signs of senescence.

The goal is to find out whether routine spaceflight is linked to cell senescence, and if it is, that would require further intervention before anyone launches for Mars.

The Van Allen belt is a magnetic protective bubble that protects Earth from solar radiation.

It means spaceflight should not have any impact on travellers to the ISS, as it might for crews going to Mars.

Kirkland stated that routine spaceflight without ever going beyond Van Allen Belt will help us determine if cell senescence is associated with it.

If we observe senescence under such conditions, we’d definitely want to work on preparations for a longer mission. Before interplanetary flight is possible, something will need to be done.

An earlier study revealed that people who travel to the Moon are five times more likely than people who only go to the ISS from low earth orbit to get heart disease. 

According to Mayo Clinic, senescence is a condition in which cells within the body become less active and more able to withstand the effects of ageing. 

This is a state in which the body can’t replace non-functioning cells. They build up and release chemicals that promote inflammation.

The Mayo Clinic team will take blood and urine samples from the four members of the civilian crew, and hunt for signs of senescence

The Mayo Clinic team will draw blood and urine from each member of the civil crew and look for signs of senescence.

While the crew's ten day jaunt to the International Space Station won't pose a serious threat of senescence, its hoped spotting early signs can help in longer haul trips

Although the crew will not be at serious risk of becoming old, the ten-day trip to the International Space Station is expected to help them spot early signs that could lead to longer haul flights.

WHAT TIME WILL HUMANS CONTACT MARS? 

Since the beginning of time, humans have longed to walk on Mars.

Each generation of NASA Astronauts since the Apollo moon landings have been informed that they could be the first people to walk on Mars. 

Artemis, the generation that was selected to visit the Moon this year, is the first to do so. 

NASA hopes to launch the first people on Mars around the middle of 2030s. It is the same time frame as China.

SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, has a longer timeline. It hopes to send a Starship and crew to Mars to set up a base before the end of 2010. 

In youth, they are vital as they can be found around injuries and signal the immune system that damage must be repaired. When someone is young, they are usually cleared away. However, as we age, our ability to remove them is diminished.

Senescence occurs when cells undergo stress. This can include radiation exposure or low gravity.

The researchers claim that DNA cell senescence is caused by low gravity.  

According to Dr Kirkland, the crew of the ISS will remain inside the Van Allen Belt, but what happens if there’s a Mars mission and if there’s a solar flare? That would mean you have to deal with atomic radiation.

“We found out that very low doses atomic radiation could drive cells into senescence, at lower levels than either x-rays nor gamma.

It could also pass through spacecraft because of atomic radiation. This makes it difficult for them to slow down. If there are Mars missions, this could pose a serious problem. 

“I am a doctor, not a scientist in space, so I have a biased view. But, I would say that the problem with health is very serious, and I’m extremely worried about what I’ve seen.

Mayo Clinic specialists are testing the crew members and sending in isolated cells from human cells. They will be incubating them in an incubator to test if they become dormant under ISS conditions.

NASA and China hope to send astronauts on the 40 million mile journey to Mars in the 2030s, and Elon Musk is confident of reaching the Red Planet this decade. NASA Artemis astronauts, pictured, one of whom may visit Mars in the future

China and NASA are hoping to send astronauts along the 40 million-mile journey to Mars in 2030s. Elon Musk also believes they can reach Mars this decade. NASA Artemis astronauts, shown, may visit Mars in future.

The cells are at the edge of senescence. We want to test if zero gravity and the G forces in the capsule and radiation can drive pre-senescent cells into senescence. They’ll also have control cells similar to those found on Earth,” the team said.

According to the authors, if they find that spaceflight is causing cellular ageing it won’t be the end for Mars missions. There are many clinical trials underway in drugs that could counter this process.

These drugs are known as senolytics and can help improve physical function for people with diseases due to cell senescence. 

EXPLAINED. THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONALSPACE STATION IS SET 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH

The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

Since November 2000 it has been staffed permanently by rotating astronaut and cosmonaut crews. 

Although crews have mostly come from Russia and the United States, the Japanese space agency JAXA as well as the European space agency ESA also send astronauts. 

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems

Over 20 years, the International Space Station has been continuously used. Numerous new modules and system upgrades have been made to it. 

Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.

ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.

The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.

So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.

The future of the station is still up for debate beyond 2025. It is believed that some elements of the original structure may be deemed obsolete by then.

Russia is a key partner of the station and plans to launch an orbital platform with AxiomSpace, a private company, around that time. It will also send its modules to the station for commercial purposes. 

NASA, ESA (JAXA), JAXA, Canada Space Agency, (CSA) and NASA are all working together in order to construct a space station on orbit around the Moon. Russia, China, and Russia are also working on a similar project that could include a base for the surface.