Radiation-blocking vest tested on Moon mission proves effective
We've flown a radiation-blocking vest to the Moon and back, and it worked
A radiation-shielding vest called AstroRad, developed by StemRad and Lockheed Martin, flew to the Moon and back on Artemis I and has been shown to reduce radiation exposure by up to 60% during a simulated solar storm. The vest, made of flexible HDPE rods, protects critical organs and bone marrow, offering a lightweight alternative to heavy spacecraft shielding.
We’re actually able to reduce the effective dose by 60 percent without protecting the head, the arms, or even the legs.
- ericd
This seems sort of interesting as a sort of emergency backup, but it seems like the real solution for any sort of long distance/long duration in space is just making mass to orbit dramatically cheaper and shielding the spacecraft.
- bcraven
“It still gets people surprised,” Milstein says. “Everybody asks, what about the head? But we’re actually able to reduce the effective dose by 60 percent without protecting the head, the arms, or even the legs.”
Whilst I understand the maths here, I can see why someone would be nervous!
- alehlopeh
The use of “we” in this headline is really jarring.