Radiation en Route to Mars Is Harsh
As it flew through space on the way to Mars, Curiosity measured the levels of radiation. Because it was behind a shield similar to the one that could be used for a manned Mars mission, this data has been eagerly awaited by biomedical researchers. Curiosity showed that the radiation a human crew could expect on the way to and back from Mars would be dangerously high, roughly 13 times the legal limit a person working at a nuclear power plant can receive in a year.
Radiation is already a known problem for deep-space missions. And medical researchers will still debate exactly how much radiation is considered safe. Right now, astronauts are not allowed to be exposed to the levels of radiation that Curiosity measured. But a manned Mars mission will take on more risk than is currently permitted and radiation would simply be part of that. The Inspiration Mars mission, which aims to send a husband and wife team on a round-trip around Mars in 2018, had already been planning for large radiation doses. To minimize health risks, they want to send an older couple that is past child-bearing years. But a future mission would likely need to develop much better shielding techniques in order to keep down the many dangers posed by space-based radiation.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
