AstroRad vest reduces astronaut radiation exposure

العلوم

Space.com

A team led by StemRad tested the AstroRad radiation-shielding vest on two instrumented female phantoms aboard NASA's uncrewed Artemis I mission and analyzed past solar particle events to project protection levels. The vest, built from thousands of hexagonal hydrogen-rich plastic rods and weighing about 26 kilograms, targets the most radiation-sensitive organs and reduced doses by about 30% compared with uniform shielding and by nearly 60% for a historic August 1972 event. Designed as an emergency countermeasure, AstroRad can provide shelter-equivalent protection while allowing mobility and can be partly 3D-printed from recycled polyethylene in orbit.

AstroRad vests can cut solar-event radiation doses by up to 60 percent