StemRad Says AstroRad Vest Matched Orion Shelter in Artemis I Radiation Test
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 13
StemRad Says AstroRad Vest Matched Orion Shelter in Artemis I Radiation Test
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 13
Summary
Artemis I flight data showed StemRad’s AstroRad vest would protect astronauts during a solar storm about as well as Orion’s heavily shielded onboard shelter.
StemRad flew the wearable shield to the Moon and back on NASA’s uncrewed mission to test whether protecting astronauts directly could work better than adding more spacecraft shielding.
Solar particle storms can sharply raise cancer risk or even cause radiation sickness beyond Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field, while current Moon- and Mars-bound spacecraft lack enough shielding to stop them outright.
Mass remains the main constraint for deep-space protection, and StemRad argues a targeted wearable approach can deliver meaningful shielding without the heavy, armor-like materials long assumed necessary.