Cosmic radiation presents significant obstacle to future Mars mission
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029957
Washington Post : Unlike Earth, which is protected from space radiation by its magnetic field, Mars is constantly bombarded by charged particles and gamma rays. In planning a future mission to Mars with a human crew aboard, NASA has been monitoring those radiation levels with the Curiosity rover, launched in 2011. While it traveled to Mars, Curiosity‘s radiation assessment detector began gathering readings on radiation levels inside the spacecraft, and it has been monitoring radiation on the planet’s surface since it landed in August 2012. Despite significant differences between predictions of Mars’s radiation levels and actual measurements, scientists remain optimistic that a way will be found to minimize astronauts’ exposure to an acceptable level.