Birkbeck Scientists Find Brain Changes in 377 Microgravity Cases, Raising Risks for Moon and Mars Missions
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 8
Birkbeck Scientists Find Brain Changes in 377 Microgravity Cases, Raising Risks for Moon and Mars Missions
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 8
Summary
A Birkbeck-led study in Frontiers in Psychology combined 15 brain-imaging studies covering 377 astronauts and simulation participants, finding structural and functional brain changes linked to microgravity exposure.
The altered regions govern movement, balance and body awareness, suggesting the brain rewires itself when gravity disappears rather than simply enduring weightlessness unchanged.
That adaptation may help astronauts function in orbit, but researchers say the recalibration takes time and could become dangerous when crews must shift quickly between microgravity and lunar or Martian gravity.
Future missions are the concern: after months in space, astronauts may keep muscles and bones conditioned with daily exercise, while sensory-motor brain changes could still impair landing, piloting and decision-making.
Scientists say countermeasures such as artificial gravity would be ideal but costly, so they are also exploring targeted brain stimulation to speed adaptation for deep-space travel.
Is stimulating the brain a better solution for Mars missions than building costly artificial gravity spacecraft?
Beyond mission risks, could long-term spaceflight permanently alter human perception and create a new form of consciousness?
With Artemis III now just an orbital test, how will NASA prove its astronauts can handle a real lunar landing?
The Astronaut Brain Under Microgravity: Latest Discoveries, Operational Risks, and Future Safeguards (2023–2025)
Overview
Recent studies from 2023 to 2025 have shown that astronauts’ brains undergo significant structural changes during space missions. In microgravity, fluids like cerebrospinal fluid and blood shift upward toward the head, increasing pressure inside the skull. This causes the brain to move slightly upward, compressing the upper part and expanding the lower part. As a result, the brain’s ventricular system expands, with some astronauts experiencing over a 12% increase in volume after six months in space. These findings highlight how microgravity directly reshapes the brain, raising important questions for long-term astronaut health and future space exploration.