Mars won’t exactly roll out the red carpet for human explorers. In fact, the Red Planet could be deadly. It’s bitterly cold, the air is too thin to breathe, there’s no ozone layer to block the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, and there’s no magnetic field to deflect solar storms.

And if that’s not enough, there’s one more potential hazard: dust. A recent study said the dust could damage lungs and other organs and cause nasty diseases.

Dust covers much of the planet, giving Mars its orange color. It’s easily lofted by the wind, and dust storms can blanket much or all of the planet.

Researchers studied the dust, along with problems that Apollo astronauts experienced with Moon dust. They found that the Mars dust grains are too small to be filtered out by the lungs. Instead, they’d enter a person’s bloodstream. Not only are the grains abrasive, but the dust contains high levels of some nasty compounds. So the dust could cause everything from thyroid problems to a condition similar to black-lung disease.

Some ailments could be treated on Mars. But any serious problems might require help from Earth – a journey of months. So Mars travelers will need good air filters, self-cleaning spacesuits, and other methods to protect them from the deadly sands of Mars.

Mars stands close to the crescent Moon as darkness falls this evening. It looks like a fairly bright star – a hazardous destination for human explorers.

Script by Damond Benningfield