A Mars Mission's Greatest Challenge: Radiation

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A Mars Mission's Greatest Challenge: Radiation

Posted by michael on Tuesday December 9, 2003 @07:41AM from the foil-underwear dept.

daSeiz writes "A New York Times article explores the possible effects of prolonged radiation exposure in deep space. Surprisingly, very little is known about the subject. We'll need to find innovative new ways of shielding spacecraft from fraction-of-lightspeed interstellar rubbish if we're ever to spend much time outside our own magnetosphere."

10 of 417 comments (clear)

Who didn't see this coming by PatrickThomson · 2003-12-09 07:44 · Score: 4, Funny

Tinfoil hats!

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1. Re:Who didn't see this coming by tds67 · 2003-12-09 07:59 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Tinfoil hats!
  To hell with that--lead jock straps!
It's a conspiracy by Prince_Ali · 2003-12-09 07:45 · Score: 4, Funny

Every sensible person knows that a space craft that is shielded enough, and large enough to allow a human to survive outside our magnetosphere would be too heavy to reach escape velocity. That is why a human has never left Earth's orbit... Apollo indeed!
I've done the math. It would take shielding 100x stronger than the stuff I use to build the hats that keep the psychotronic weapons from affecting my brain!

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oh... by gyratedotorg · 2003-12-09 07:47 · Score: 4, Funny

isnt every speed less than the speed of light a fraction of light speed?

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Whoa, dude. by shystershep · 2003-12-09 07:48 · Score: 4, Funny

changes in motor skills are tested by stimulating animals with cocaine and measuring movement with infrared beams
They tried marijuana first, but the mice just got paranoid and started eating everything in sight.

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The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer. - Albert Einstein
Star Trek solution by rf0 · 2003-12-09 07:49 · Score: 4, Funny

Well we will have to reroute main engine power through the deflector dish to create a graviton feedback wave which will in turn allow us to turn the radiation into a non-harful form of chocolate

Rus

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The way to sell it by downix · 2003-12-09 07:53 · Score: 4, Funny

$30 to $60 billion to get to Mars? I know how to do it. Tell Dubya that Martians are stockpiling weapons of mass destruction!

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Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
Well if they send four astronauts... by psxndc · 2003-12-09 07:59 · Score: 4, Funny

You know one will come back all bendy-like, one will be on fire, another will be invisible, and one will be made of orange rock. And I ain't even a PhD.
psxndc

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The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
Shielding material by wowbagger · 2003-12-09 08:01 · Score: 5, Funny

The problem is finding a shielding material that will absorb the radiation that will affect a human body, without transmuting radiation that would pass harmlessly through a human into radiation harmful to a human. Thus, you need a shielding material that is cheap and has the same absorbsion parameters as a human.

I suggest using spammers.

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www.eFax.com are spammers
Re:Comparing Price by tomhudson · 2003-12-09 08:20 · Score: 4, Funny

Actually, George Bush is going to anounce a new space initiative - landing on the SUN.
Q: Won't it get too hot?
A: We'll land at night.
Back on-topic - snag a big ice/rock comet and use its' water for shielding.