- Medications used by astronauts on the International Space Station may not be adequate for a three-year journey to Mars.
- A study led by Duke Health revealed that more than half of the medicines onboard space are likely to expire before astronauts return to Earth.
- Expired medications could potentially lead to ineffective or harmful treatments during long-duration space missions.
- The stability and potency of medications in space compared to Earth is largely unknown due to the harsh space environment, which could reduce drug effectiveness.
- To address the issue, solutions such as extending expiration dates, selecting medications with longer shelf-lives, or increasing the number of medications brought on board may be necessary for successful long-duration missions.
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Emergency Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Pharmacists