Israeli radiation shield could help pave way for safer missions to Moon, Mars

An Israeli-designed vest, AstroRad, developed by StemRad, significantly reduced simulated radiation exposure during NASA's Artemis I mission in late 2022. The vest, weighing 26 kilograms and made of hydrogen-rich plastic, is designed to shield vulnerable organs. The Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) involved two mannequins, Zohar wearing the vest and Helga without, equipped with radiation sensors during the 25.5-day uncrewed lunar orbit.

• Computer modeling, based on real mission data and severe solar storm scenarios (1972 and 1989), indicated the vest could reduce radiation exposure by 38.5% to 60.7%.
• This reduction could extend the time astronauts can remain below radiation-risk thresholds by 40 to 193 days.
• The vest also provided approximately 30% more effective protection than a whole-body shielding configuration of the same weight, highlighting the efficiency of targeted protection.
• Ran Levana, director of the Israel Space Agency, stated, "MARE marks an important transition from measuring the radiation environment in space to evaluating practical countermeasures."