"Those responsible for the health of spaceflight crews will have to find ways to extend the validity of drugs to complete a three-year mission to Mars, choose drugs with a longer shelf life, or accept the increased risk of administering expired drugs," said the lead researcher.
More than half of the drugs kept in stock in space will expire in less than three years - the duration of a Mars mission. That's according to a new Duke Health study.
Medicines used by astronauts on the International Space Station may not be good enough for a three-year journey to Mars.
A new study led by Duke Health shows that more than half of the drugs kept in space in space — basic drugs like pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medications and sleep aids — will expire before the astronauts can return to Earth.
Astronauts could find themselves dependent on ineffective or even harmful drugs, according to an article published July 23 in the journal npj Microgravity.
"This does not necessarily mean that the drugs will not work, but just as one should not take expired drugs that are at home, space research agencies will have to take into account that expired drugs are less effective," said the senior author of the article, Dr. Daniel Buckland, a senior lecturer in emergency medicine at BIA. Duke University physician and space medicine researcher.
Medicines that have expired can lose their strength to a little - or a lot. Not much is known yet about the actual stability and potency of drugs in space compared to Earth. The harsh space environment, including radiation, can affect the effectiveness of drugs.
Buckland and co-author Thomas A. Diaz, a pharmacy intern at Johns Hopkins Hospital, noted that expired drugs can be a problem as space agencies plan extended missions to Mars and beyond.
Diaz used a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain information about the list of drugs on the space station, assuming that NASA would use similar drugs on the Mars mission.
Using a database of drug expiration dates from different countries, the researchers determined that 54 of the 91 drugs had a shelf life of 36 months or less.
In the most optimistic estimates, about 60% of these drugs will expire before the Mars mission ends. Under more conservative assumptions, the number jumps to 98%.
The study did not assume an accelerated deterioration but focused on the inability to replenish the inventory of the Mars mission with newer drugs. This lack of replenishment affects not only medicines but also other critical supplies, such as food.
Increasing the number of drugs loaded into the spacecraft could compensate for the reduced effectiveness of expired drugs, the authors said.
"Those responsible for the health of spaceflight crews will have to find ways to extend the validity of drugs to complete a three-year mission to Mars, choose drugs with a longer shelf life, or accept the increased risk of giving expired drugs," Diaz said.
"Past experience and studies show that astronauts do get sick on the space station, but there is real-time communication with the ground and a well-stocked pharmacy that is regularly replenished, and this prevents small injuries or minor illnesses from becoming problems that affect the mission," Buckland said.
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