Humans could ‘inject nanoparticles’ to survive deadly deep-space cancer on trips to Elon Musk’s Mars colony

Hawthorne's nanomedicine, called NaNots, essentially targets signals which tumors send to the immune system that say 'don't kill me' - the signals which allow it to grow.

The tech, he claims, will then allow a human's immune system to shrink the tumour, or tackle a sepsis infection.

"We have shown that it works in various animal models of disease," he explained, with testing done on humanised mice alongside the Mayo Clinic.

Hawthorne claims NaNots also worked against the molecules responsible for sepsis in a mouse model.

But Nanotics' medicine is preclinical, meaning that it can't be used on astronauts today - but possibly in the future if human trials go well.

The experimental treatment is exactly that: experimental.

The Nature study noted that the application of nano-drugs is "unhurried", with less than 10 per cent of medicines being approved due to safety issues in preclinical and clinical studies.

But the technology, while in its early stages, gives us an insight into how future astronauts might be able to survive deep-space missions, in which they will leave Earth for several years at a time.

We don't have large machines like MRIs, CTs, big radiation machines, cyclotrons and gamma knives and things like that... in space.

'Incredibly compact'

The medicine comes in syringe form, making it "incredibly compact," according to Hawthorne.

He added: "So, you could pack enough for five years for a dozen astronauts easily in a package the size of a microwave oven.

"We have a massive [amount of] infrastructure and talent available on Earth.

"We don't have large machines like MRIs, CTs, big radiation machines, cyclotrons and gamma knives and things like that... in space.

"So, you need something that treats disease at the molecular roots and is super compact and doesn't require returning to Earth."

The idea is that an astronaut could take a simple finger-prick blood test, which goes into a device that spot can abnormalities like cancer.

These devices, called ELISA kits, already exist, and are currently being modified by other companies to work in space, according to Hawthorne.

Nanotics wants to make a syringe for several conditions deep-space astronauts might encounter.

Astronauts would then pull the right syringe off the shelf for whichever ailment they have, and administer it themselves through an IV.

The company, which secured $1million from one investor just weeks ago, is trying to raise $300million to fund human studies.

Should the company be successful in scraping together that much cash, Hawthorne believes it can begin human trials in 16 to 18 months.

"Anywhere people go, I think this should be in the toolkit," said Hawthorne.