How are drugs used in space? What if it expires?

Insomnia, various aches, congestion, and allergies are all common ailments for those involved in a space mission. here because of Access to medical supplies is a major concern for astronauts. So how do you make a particular drug survive the harsh conditions of space exploration?

A question that agencies have often tried to answer. On the other hand, the drug was used by American crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) It was actually observed between 2002 and 2012.

According to the data collected, astronauts have Use sleeping pills 10 times more from Earth”. They also used a lot of ibuprofen for pain from changes in spaceflight pressure, high carbon dioxide levels, and joint problems.

On the other hand, unfortunately, the longer the spaceflight e The higher the chances of suffering from acute illnesseswith fairly common health problems such as a weakened immune system, bone decalcification and hypotension.

On Earth, most drugs expire within a year but that’s in space It could happen even earlierdue to cosmic radiation and other extreme conditions, unless a protective system is used under controlled conditions.

To understand how to extend the life of medicines in space, Dr. Volker Hesel from the University of Adelaide formed a team of researchers to… Shipping many common medicines into spaceand studying its development.

One of the main goals was to understand how a file worksAnd space radiation can affect ibuprofen (which is widely used). Then astronauts on the International Space Station placed six disks in International Space Station Experiment Material (MISSE), a system of four containers (the size of a suitcase) placed outside the International Space Station. In order to experience the real hostile conditions of space.

After one year, Only two out of six ibuprofen tablets They have retained their physical and chemical properties. In addition, the troubling fact for the team was that some of the excipients present in certain tablets of the drug protect it from deterioration.

Then Volcker and his group did so Some tablets are coated with iron oxideWhich, thanks to its high density, is able to block gamma rays, in a way that compares the new protection with that offered by some of the artificial chemical flavors that helped preserve the ibuprofen tablets.

From the data obtained, which are still approximate, they understood that a certain type of radiation, beta radiation (which include high-energy electrons), they can collide with molecules, breaking their atomic bonds and turning them into free radicals that can interact with other molecules. This causes a chain reaction responsible for rapid disc degeneration.

This new knowledge can help Produces longer lasting medicines to explore space. With SpaceX planning to send humans to Mars by 2030, astronauts will be in dire need of medication that can last throughout the journey.

To stay on the topic, do you know how to treat a blood clot in space? NASA explained it to us directly.