Newsweek

Scientists Aim to Protect Astronauts from Radiation

It seems inevitable that humans are going to Mars, but unless they figure out the radiation problem, all that preparation will be moot.
A woman wearing a prototype of Stemrad's new protective vest, Astrorad, sits inside the Excalibur-Almaz Space Capsule during a demonstration at the National Museum of Science Technology and Space in Haifa, Israel on February 23.
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Radiation. It’s everywhere, from the fallout of nuclear weapons to medical X-rays. It’s a cause of cancer, but it’s also one of the preferred forms of cancer treatment. There’s also a lot of it in space, and if we want to send astronauts to Mars safely, that’s a problem.

The charged particles commonly called radiation are a serious threat to anyone traveling in space, whether it’s a stay on the International Space Station or beyond. The Earth’s magnetic field protects people on the planet from radiation by trapping the particles in radiation belts that surround the globe. These

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