Question

(1) Space flights to other planets have long been a fixture of science fiction, and in 2017 the fiction appeared to come closer to reality when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced it was prioritizing eventual piloted missions to Mars and other planets. (2) It may be too soon to start planning your Martian vacation, however: there are good reasons to doubt that humans will be able to undertake long-distance space flights.

(3) For example, the body begins to lose muscle mass and bone density in low-gravity environments because the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere is removed. (4) Astronauts struggle to walk after returning from a six-month space mission; the effects of a three-year flight and a stay on Mars would be far greater. (5) Similarly, humans have a natural cycle of wakefulness and sleep attuned to daytime and nighttime on Earth. (6) Anyone who has experienced jet lag can attest to the mental and physical effects of disrupting this cycle, but we can only imagine the consequences of disrupting it for years on end.

(7) It remains to be seen whether these problems can be diminished enough for long space voyages, and it is true that monitoring, exercise, and technological fixes like sunlight-simulating LED lights have shown promise. (8) Other issues may be more troublesome. (9) Space missions are stressful, requiring long hours of repetitive activity performed in small, cramped spaces. (10) The stress lowers immune response even as outer space conditions cause microbes in astronauts’ bodies to mutate, potentially resulting in dangerous diseases. (11) Cosmic rays pose another health concern: a 2018 study from Georgetown University Medical Center found that prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation could lead to stomach and colon cancers. (12) Unless scientists can develop effective means of fighting these health risks, long-distance space travel may be too dangerous.

(13) With NASA’s attention directed to the problems of long space missions, it is certainly possible that other nations will invest in similar research. (14) But it is also possible that further research will turn up new problems that have not even been identified yet.

The writer is considering the leading sentence 11 (reproduced below). should the writer keep or delete this sentence?

cosmic rays pose another health concern: A 2018 study from Georgetown university medical center found that prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation could lead to stomach and colon cancers

A) keep it, because it provides data to support the claim about spacewalks made in sentence 4.
B) keep it, because it makes it claim that supports the writers line of reasoning in the third paragraph.
C) keep it, because it logically demonstrates the outcome of the problem described in sentence 10.
D) delete it, because he contradicts the claim made a sentence 13 about NASA's attempts to solve these problems.
E) delete it, because it interrupts the point the writer is making in the third paragraph with details that are only tangentially relevant

Answer 1

The writer should keep sentence 11 because it introduces important data regarding the risks of cosmic radiation, reinforcing the argument about the dangers of long-duration spaceflight.

Step-by-step explanation:

The writer should keep sentence 11, as it introduces new data that complements the writer's argument about the health risks associated with long-duration spaceflight. This sentence specifically addresses the risk of cosmic radiation, which is an important factor in discussing the broader implications of space travel on human health. It relates to the overall concern of the paragraph by identifying one of the serious physical challenges that need to be overcome before humans can safely engage in prolonged space missions, thereby supporting the writer's line of reasoning.

The writer should keep sentence 11, which states that cosmic rays pose a health concern and can lead to stomach and colon cancers. This supports the claim made in sentence 10 about the potential for dangerous diseases caused by cosmic radiation. The sentence provides data to support the claim made in the third paragraph.