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News: A recent study found that the AstroRad vest can significantly reduce astronauts’ radiation exposure during major solar storms.
About AstroRad Vest
- AstroRad Vest is a wearable radiation-protection vest developed for astronauts travelling beyond Earth’s protective magnetic field.
- Developed by: It was developed by StemRad, an Israeli company, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, a US-based aerospace and defence company.
- Key Features:
- Hydrogen-Rich Material: The vest uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE) because of its high proportion of hydrogen, which is effective against charged particle space radiation.
- The hydrogen-rich material helps slow energetic particles and reduce radiation exposure.
- Flexible Design: The vest contains thousands of hexagonal HDPE rods placed between two layers of elastic fabric.
- The shielding components can slide past one another and stretch, allowing astronauts to move freely while wearing the compact vest inside the confined space of a spacecraft.
- Selective Target Shielding: The vest places more shielding around radiation-sensitive organs and tissues, including bone marrow, lungs, stomach, breasts and ovaries.
- Tested in Space: Astronauts tested AstroRad on the International Space Station in 2019 and 2020.
- The improved version was later tested using the Helga and Zohar human-shaped dummies during Artemis I in 2022.
- Hydrogen-Rich Material: The vest uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE) because of its high proportion of hydrogen, which is effective against charged particle space radiation.
