Astronauts’ 9-month stay in space could help with healthier mission to Mars [Video]

As astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams get their land legs back on Earth, the effects of being stranded in space for nine months — and their recovery — will give scientists a chance to improve preparations for eventual, and even longer, space flights, say experts.

NASA aims to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s; flights which, there and back, could take 21 months. 

“The extreme environment of space, the radiation, the lack of gravity, even just those confined spaces, it can really take a toll on our health,” said Dr. Farhan Asrar, an associate professor at University of Toronto and associate dean of clinical faculty relations at Toronto Metropolitan University’s medical school, who researches space medicine.

“Literally, I would say, pretty much from head to toe, it can cause issues.”

Without gravity, bodily fluids shift upward, leading to facial swelling and increased pressure in the skull, which can affect vision.

On Earth, the pull of …