Russian scientists will study on monkeys the effect of the rays of open space on humans for possible long-distance flights of cosmonauts, Oleg Vyshemirsky, director of science at the Research Institute of Medical Primatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (RAMS), told RIA Novosti.
He explained that four institutes will take part in the research: Moscow State University, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Physics Research in Dubna, Moscow Region, the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute of Medical Primatology (RAMS). Their task is to investigate the influence of open cosmic radiation on the astronaut's organism. When astronauts fly in Earth's orbit, they are protected by the Earth's magnetosphere, but during long-distance flights, the rays of open space begin to be affected: radioactive rays from the sun and rays of other stars in the galaxy.
“We need to figure out whether these rays will harm the organism of the astronauts. To do this, we take five of our pets, prepare them, send them to Dubna, where they will be irradiated with rays similar to the rays of open space. And after that we will understand whether it is dangerous or not dangerous, or it is necessary to send astronauts into space in a special protected bunker. We are not talking about a flight to Mars or Venus. It's just a principle of whether it is possible to be outside the Earth's magnetosphere in space,”Vyshemirsky said.
He added that this research program, which will start in 2017, has received the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, which will finance it. At the same time, the planning of all work will begin after receiving funding, since scientists have to conduct a lot of research.