How Well Would Meds Work on a Mission to Mars?

Astronauts headed to Mars might wind up with degraded drug stores on the return trip More than half of the medicines stocked in space will expire during a three-year voyage These include pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medicines and sleep aids TUESDAY, July 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- How many drugs in your bathroom medicine cabinet have expired? Now imagine you have no way of refilling them, because you’re millions of miles from home. That’s the dilemma that will face astronauts on a Mars mission, a new study warns. More than half of the medicines stocked on the International Space Station would expire before a mission to Mars could make it back to Earth, results show.

These include staples like pain relievers, antibiotics, and sleep aids. Astronauts on their way back from Mars could end up relying on drugs that have become either ineffective or even harmful over time, researchers reported July 23 in the journal . “It doesn’t necessarily mean the medicines won't work, but in the same way you shouldn’t take expired medications you have lying around at home, space exploration agencies will need to plan on expired medications being less effective,” said senior researcher , an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.

C. For the study, researchers reviewed the formulary of medications kept on the International Space Station (ISS), assuming NASA would stock similar drugs on a Mars mission. “Prior experience an.