New Delhi, India

Space has long been a place of wonder, but it's also an environment inherently dangerous to humans. To date, only about 700 humans have made the journey to space successfully. However, according to Chris Impey, a University of Arizona professor and space exploration expert, with the commercialisation of space by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, the number of success stories and the risks are set to heighten.

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The risks

Impey, an astronomer, writing for The Conversation, says "I think a lot about the risks and rewards of exploring space."

He says that the overall fatality rate for space travellers is around 3 per cent, a figure "higher than extreme sports such as BASE jumping or jumping off a cliff wearing a wingsuit".

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"In total, 30 astronauts and cosmonauts have died while training for or during space missions," and there have been "dozens of close calls".

What are the risks of SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Mission?

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SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Mission, originally scheduled to launch on Aug 27 2024 but delayed due to a helium leak and bad weather will take its four-person crew including civilians to an altitude of 435 miles (a little over 700 kilometres)—higher than any astronauts since Apollo.

The crew will be exposed to high levels of radiation, "getting as much in a few hours as they would in 20 years on the Earth". 

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The mission also plans a spacewalk, the "first for nongovernment astronauts"—potentially the most dangerous part—using spacesuits not tested in space, in a capsule without an airlock. The risks are significant: a small tear or puncture in the spacesuit could be fatal. 

Despite the challenges, the mission also offers the opportunity to gather valuable data on the effects of space travel and radiation exposure, as it will travel higher than any other previous mission.

(With inputs from agencies)