Cosmonaut says space radiation is causing him to go blind

In a real space shocker, Pravda is carrying the story of a Russian cosmonaut who says that radiation from his time in space is causing him to go blind-. He also charges that his government covered up the potential effects of radiation on orbit.

Cosmonaut Valentin Lebedev, 66, spent 211 days aboard the Salyut-7 in 1982. Now going blind from a sudden onset of fast-growing cataracts, Lebedeve said:

“I suffered from a lot of radiation in space. It was all concealed back then, during the Soviet years, but now I can say that I caused damage to my health because of that flight.."

“I burnt my eyes in space when I was working with the rocket equipment. There is no atmosphere in space so you’re getting a sunburn there like in a hot country. My eyes were aching after work a lot"..

American astronauts routinely spend about six months aboard the International Space Station. Michael Lopez-Alegria spent 215 days in orbit on the orbiting outpost. Shannon Lucid lived and worked aboard the now-defunct Russian Mir for 188 days.

Although today's space station offers newer and better construction and safeguards, the worries about long-term damage from space radiation are very real. Space farers are most at risk during solar storms, according to NASA:

For astronauts, space radiation effects have to do with the amount of radiation (usually x-rays) that pass through the walls of their spacecraft or space station and penetrate into the body of the astronaut. Most people have an instinctive fear of radiation and its potential biological effects.

No matter where you live, you receive a free dose each day of environmental radiation which adds up to 360 millirems (4- 5 chest X-rays) per year, and you have no control over this.

During the Apollo program, there were several near-misses between the astronauts walking on the surface of the Moon and a deadly solar storm event. The Apollo 12 astronauts walked on the Moon only a few short weeks after a major solar proton flare would have bathed the astronauts in a 100 rem blast of radiation.

Another major flare that occurred half way between the Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 moonwalks would have had a much more deadly outcome had it arrived while astronauts were outside their spacecraft playing golf. Within a few minutes, the astronauts would have been killed on the spot with an incredible 7000 rem blast of radiation.

The daily dosage of radiation on the Space Station is about equal to 8 chest X-rays per day.

Image credit: Russian space agency photo via Pravda.