“The concern is not so much any immediate effects on people, although those are possible, but long-term health effects like cancer, or damage to the central nervous system.”
Humans traveling on a spacecraft to Mars would be exposed to two kinds of radiation. One is low-energy particles called Galactic Cosmic Rays, or GCRs. The other is solar particle radiation, which depends on sun spot activity.
Mr. Zeitlin says improvements in protective equipment might help keep astronauts safe from the solar radiation. But he says the cosmic rays are a bigger problem.
“They can typically go through several inches of solid matter shielding without being attenuated (reduced) very much. So astronauts in deep space will get a continuous low radiation dose.”
He and his team will continue to take radiation measurements as the rover Curiosity continues to explore. Researchers want a complete picture of the radiation risks involved in human travel to Mars.
I’m Christopher Cruise.
NASA experts are considering these numbers on radiation levels in their early planning for a mission to Mars. Some scientists say the answer might be improvements in the driving force of spacecraft. They say new propulsion technologies are needed to shorten the time it takes to get to Mars. This would reduce the time a person is exposed to the radiation along the way.
Chris Moore leads NASA’s advanced exploration systems program. He says engineers are working on systems that could cut a trip to Mars from 250 to 180 days.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25