{
  "id": 9380246,
  "title": "Exercise keeps astronauts' hearts strong enough for flight to Mars",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/exercise-keeps-astronauts-hearts-strong-enough-for-flight-to-mars",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-23T17:24:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-astronauts-hearts-strong-flight-mars.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Recent research suggests that engaging in intensive exercise during extended spaceflights can help maintain heart strength and function, enabling astronauts to tolerate the low-gravity environment of Mars. This discovery, co-led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher Dr. Benjamin Levine, could enhance both space mission safety and terrestrial heart health interventions. Previous studies have shown that prolonged spaceflight leads to cardiac atrophy, making long-duration flights particularly concerning, especially for Mars missions. Dr. Levine, a renowned sports cardiologist and space medicine expert, emphasizes that the implemented exercise countermeasures are sufficient to keep astronauts' hearts in optimal condition for the Martian gravitational loads. The study involved 14 astronauts who spent about six months on the International Space Station, undergoing echocardiography with Doppler ultrasound to assess cardiac structure and function. Initial changes in heart size and function after launch were largely reversed with daily exercise routines, which included endurance and strength training. Postflight tests under simulated Mars gravity confirmed that the astronauts' cardiac function remained preserved, indicating that current exercise regimens could effectively support their ability to endure the unique challenges of a Mars mission.",
  "summary": "Intense exercise during long spaceflights helps maintain heart structure and function within a range needed to tolerate the low-gravity environment of Mars, a study co-led by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher suggests. The findings, published in Circulation, not only address an issue critical to future space missions but could also lead to better interventions to improve heart health on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}