Interplanetary exploration will be humankind’s most ambitious expedition. The journey itself is as intimidating as it is intrepid. One major obstacle for successful deep space travel is the possible negative effects of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) exposure. In this project, we’re investigating how GCR impacts learning and memory. We have previously found sex-dependent responses to GCR—specifically, female rodents were protected from the deleterious effects of GCR. Now we are diving deeper into understanding these responses at the cellular and molecular level.
