American scientists talked about what threatens people who try to colonize Mars.
Scientists consider as utopian the statements of the head of the American space corporation SpaceX Elon Musk that in the coming decades, mankind will colonize Mars.
Experts pay attention to the fact that the real conditions of being in space and on the surface of Mars differ significantly from the stories told by science fiction writers.
So, scientists say, one should not forget about the so-called "Nikolaev effect". We are talking about a phenomenon that was described by Soviet doctors after cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolaev visited space. He spent 18 days in space. But this time was enough for his heart to shrink by 20%. He was also diagnosed with a decrease in the minute cycle of blood circulation. After returning to Earth, Nikolaev suffered two heart attacks in a year.
Therefore, experts emphasized, only physically hardy people will be able to make a flight to Mars, and even then only if reliable methods of protection against cosmic rays are developed.