The Impending Death of Human Space Exploration

An invisible crisis is building in the area of human spaceflight with profound implications for human exploration of space. Human spaceflight is considered the embodiment of the space adventure for most states and individuals, the epitome of the human quest for what is over the next hill. For the United States, that vision structures much of what NASA does in searching for evidence of signs of life either in the solar system or the great beyond. However, whether human bodies can survive the experience of traveling great distances to visit other planets and other celestial bodies is becoming the great stumbling block. The more that is discovered about the hazards of space, the more problematic becomes the prospects for the long-term human survival in outer space.