With all the outer space travel developments that were already achieved by mankind, its about time that we carry out manned space flights to Mars. However, there's still the still unresolved question regarding cosmic rays, which may pose a dangerous health threat to astronauts as they travel in space.

Humans traversing in outer space will be constantly exposed to cosmic rays, which may probably be detrimental to an astronaut's health. The effects of constant exposure to cosmic rays are not yet fully known, however, so the European Space Agency (ESA) decided to study the effects of ion beams similar to those in space.

The ESA has chosen the GSI accelerator facility for the very purpose of studying ion beams and its effects on human tissues and organs, because it currently is the only place in Europe that could produce all types of ion beams, from hydrogen to uranium. Outer space also has varying kinds of ion beams.

The ESA is currently putting out a call for any and all scientists with ideas for relevant ion beam experiments in the GSI. The Biophysics and Radio-biology Program Advisory Committee will start to sift through initial applications in May, and experiments will start around the end of this year.