Mars astronauts would get unsafe radiation doses even with shielding

Simulations show that a 1000-day mission to Mars would expose astronauts to radiation doses above 1 sievert, even with metal shielding

By Alex Wilkins

A crewed mission to Mars would expose astronauts to radiation levels higher than the safe limits set by space agencies, even with metal shielding, simulations have revealed.

There have been real-world and simulated studies of radiation doses in space, but these tend to be either time-limited or restricted in scope, such as only accounting for specific organs or focusing on men only.

“Many calculations took a very simplistic approach, but we have done it in a …