Expired Medications Could Complicate Long Space Missions

Medications used by astronauts on the International Space Station may not be sufficient for a three-year trip to Mars. A new Duke Health study reveals that over half of the medicines, including pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medicines, and sleep aids, would expire before the astronauts’ return to Earth.

Astronauts might have to rely on ineffective or harmful drugs, according to a study published on July 23 in npj Microgravity. “This doesn’t necessarily mean the medications won’t work, but just as you shouldn’t take expired medications at home, space agencies need to plan for reduced effectiveness in expired medications,” said senior study author Daniel Buckland, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and an aerospace medicine researcher.

Expired medications can lose their potency significantly. The actual stability and potency of medications in space remain largely unknown, and the harsh space environment, including radiation, could further reduce their effectiveness.

Expired Medications Pose Major Issue for Mars Missions

Buckland and co-author Thomas E. Diaz, a pharmacy resident at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, noted that expired medications could be a major issue for long-duration missions to Mars and beyond. Diaz used a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain information about the space station formulary, assuming NASA would use similar medications for a Mars mission.

Using a database of international drug expiration dates, the researchers found that 54 out of 91 medications had a shelf-life of 36 months or less. Even with optimistic estimates, about 60% of these medications would expire before the end of a Mars mission, and under more conservative assumptions, this figure rises to 98%.

Resupply Challenges for Mars Missions

The study did not account for accelerated degradation but focused on the challenge of resupplying a Mars mission with fresh medications. This resupply issue affects not only medications but also other essential supplies like food.

The authors suggested that increasing the quantity of medications taken on board could help counteract the reduced efficacy of expired drugs.

“Those responsible for the health of space flight crews will need to find ways to extend the expiration of medications to cover a three-year Mars mission, select medications with longer shelf-lives, or accept the increased risk of using expired medications,” said Diaz.

“Previous experience and research indicate that astronauts do get ill on the International Space Station, but they have real-time communication with the ground and a regularly resupplied pharmacy, preventing small injuries or minor illnesses from escalating into mission-threatening issues,” Buckland added.

Additional authors include Emma Ives and Diana I. Lazare.

Read the original article on: Phys Org

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