Moving to Mars: Researchers Investigate What’s Possible Using New Model

The ExoMars 2016 lifts off on a Proton-M rocket in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on March 14, 2016. One of the scientific objectives of the collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency is to search for signs of past and present life on Mars. Stephane Corvaja/ESA via Getty Images

Experts in space medicine from the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a mathematical model to evaluate the impact that space travel to Mars would have on the human body.

The lead author of the paper, Lex van Loon, a Research Fellow from the ANU Medical School, said in a news release that with the advent of space travel trips to Mars inspire many concerns on the health front due to the lengthy exposure to microgravity, often called “zero” gravity.