NASA is set to fly ‘phantom women’ dummies around the moon in 2020.
The testing will include a dummy strapped with a radiation-shielding vest and another without protection to determine the amount of radiation omitted by the sun and space.
The vest is designed to protect parts of the human body that are most sensitive to radiation and the model traveling on Artemis 1 is made for a female body – studies have found they are more susceptible to radiation than their male counterparts.
The Artemis 1, formally known as Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a serious of missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars.
This mission, set for 2020, will be an unmanned flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.
NASA is set to send ‘phantom women’ dummies around the moon in 2020. The testing will include a dummy strapped with a radiation-shielding vest and another without protection to determine the amount of radiation omitted by the sun and space
And NASA is set to send two dummies with it.
The two dummies will be used to measure the amount of radiation astronauts could absorb when the reach the moon in 2024.
One of the dummies, named Zohar, will wear the radiation-shielding vest called StemRad and the other will, dubbed Helga, will go without protection.
Because they are ‘phantom dummies’ the both will be fitted with sensors to measure radiation – a problem scientists are trying to cope with, as it can cause health issues and even sudden death.
‘We are very happy to fly [StemRad] on this mission,’ Thomas Berger, team leader of the biophysics group at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), told Space.com at the International Astronautical Congress on Oct. 23. Berger is the principal investigator of the dummy test that will fly on Artemis 1, formally known as the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE).
One of the dummies, named Zohar, will wear the radiation-shielding vest called StemRad and the other will, dubbed Helga, will go without protection
The vest uses polyethylene blocks to shield against radiation particles, which is the same material used in the sleep quarters on the International Space Station.
There is another radiation vest currently aboard the International Space Station, called the AstroRad Radiation Shield, and is also made for the female body.
This vest is said to protect vital human tissue, particularly stem cells, which could be devastated by solar radiation in deep space or on Mars.
It is made of layers that look like a contoured map and will be tailor-made for each astronaut.
Non-metallic protective materials will be positioned on each shield to cover the organs of each astronaut.
‘This product will enable human deep space exploration’, said Oren Milstein, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of StemRad.
‘Our breakthrough has come in creating the architecture of the multi-layered shield to accurately cover the most important organs.’
There is another radiation vest currently aboard the International Space Station, called the AstroRad Radiation Shield (pictured), and is also made for the female body
It is made of layers that look like a contoured map and will be tailor-made for each astronaut