ESA to test new technology on Artemis I to save astronauts from deadly cosmic radiation

Astronauts heading to the Moon in a few years would have to face intense cosmic radiation which would expose them to serious risk of cancer and degenerative diseases. To avoid this possibility, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed a new device to map the radiation environment inside the spacecraft of the Artemis I lunar mission. The Artemis I is an uncrewed mission being targeted for launch later this year and is basically a test run before launching humans to the Moon. 

ESA prepares to test its Active Dosimeters

(Active radiation dosimeters; Image: ESA)

The device ESA has developed is named ESA Active Dosimeters (EADs) are equipped with multiple sensors to record the data on the amount of radiation being endured by Artemis I Orion spacecraft. The agency has plans to mount five EADs the size of a deck of cards inside the Oion spacecraft. 

It is evident that our planets constantly get bombarded with galactic cosmic rays, which basically are energetic particles that travel at near-light speed and have the potential to penetrate the human body. Our planet, however, remains safe from these harmful rays due to the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.

(Orion spacecraft's interior; Image: ESA)

Needless to say, the farther one gets from the Earth's influence, the riskier it gets for that person. Scarily enough, an astronaut on a lunar mission could receive radiation doses up to 700 times higher than he would on our planet. Explaining the utility of the device, Scott Hovland, ESA’s Columbus 2030 team leader said as per the agency's blog, "We will get a timestamp of the broad range of ionising energies the spacecraft will travel through, from as far as almost half a million kilometres from Earth". ESA's radiation research team Marco Durante said, "The truth is that we know little about the long-lasting effects of space radiation on humans. The risk is out there, but we don’t have enough knowledge". 

It is worth noting that the scientific efforts to study cosmic radiation have been going on for a decade aboard the International Space Station (ISS). ESA revealed that astronauts have been measuring the radiation dose in the Columbus Module for about ten years now. Scientists believe that it is these radiations that would "stop us from reaching Mars", and this makes it even more important to find a way around this cosmic barrier. 

(Image: NASA)