D.U.Quark
Abstract
Radiation is the biggest roadblock for NASA in sending astronauts to Mars and to explore other parts of the solar system. The moon is close enough to Earth that radiation was not a significant factor in the short-term Apollo missions, but any future missions that stray further from Earth or for longer periods of time will require new radiation shielding techniques. This review explains the different types of radiation that will affect astronauts, the current mitigation techniques, and the new research being done on radiation shielding. More work is needed to find a lightweight, durable material to protect astronauts as they explore increasingly distant parts of the solar system.
School
Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
First Page
44
Last Page
50
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hoying, M. (2019). Radiation Shielding: The Astronomical Problem of Protecting Astronauts on Mars. D.U.Quark, 3 (2). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/duquark/vol3/iss2/6