Health Effects of Lunar and Martian Regolith Exposure in Zebrafish

Faculty Mentor Information

Dr. Danny Xu (Mentor), Idaho State University

Additional Funding Sources

This work is supported, in part, by NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response Research Award (80NSSC23M0137), Idaho INBRE (P20GM103408), American Chemical Society Project Seed Program, ISU College of Pharmacy, and ISU CPI Summer Research Funds.

Presentation Date

7-2024

Abstract

NASA’s Artemis missions aim to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and Mars. Increased human exposure to regolith, fine dust particles covering the Moon and Mars, may present hazardous effects, and thus calls for better understanding of the potential toxicities. In response, the main objective of this project is to determine the effects of Lunar and Martian regolith exposure in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Simulants used from the Exolith Lab include lunar highlands (LHS-1D), lunar maria (LMS-1D), Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1), and Jezero Crater deposit (JEZ-1) dust. Both 0-72 hours post-fertilization (hpf) embryos and 3-7 days post-fertilization (dpf) larvae were exposed to low (1000µg/mL) and high (5000µg/mL) doses of regolith. Non-exposure fish were placed in standard embryo medium (EM) as controls. The changes in fish physiology, growth, and survival were measured. Data are still being analyzed to determine the effects of regolith exposure in zebrafish.

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Health Effects of Lunar and Martian Regolith Exposure in Zebrafish

NASA’s Artemis missions aim to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and Mars. Increased human exposure to regolith, fine dust particles covering the Moon and Mars, may present hazardous effects, and thus calls for better understanding of the potential toxicities. In response, the main objective of this project is to determine the effects of Lunar and Martian regolith exposure in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Simulants used from the Exolith Lab include lunar highlands (LHS-1D), lunar maria (LMS-1D), Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1), and Jezero Crater deposit (JEZ-1) dust. Both 0-72 hours post-fertilization (hpf) embryos and 3-7 days post-fertilization (dpf) larvae were exposed to low (1000µg/mL) and high (5000µg/mL) doses of regolith. Non-exposure fish were placed in standard embryo medium (EM) as controls. The changes in fish physiology, growth, and survival were measured. Data are still being analyzed to determine the effects of regolith exposure in zebrafish.