Burrowing inside an asteroid whose orbit carries it past both
the Earth and Mars could protect astronauts from radiation on
their way to the Red Planet. The idea is being investigated with
funding from NASA. Outside the protective bubble of the Earth's
magnetic field, charged particles from the Sun and from beyond
our solar system in the form of cosmic rays pose a hazard to
astronauts. Long-term exposure to this space radiation could
increase the risk of astronauts developing cancer and could
interfere with their memory and attention skills (see Future
Mars astronauts have radiation on their minds). Building
shielding on Earth to launch with the spacecraft would add a lot
of extra weight to the vehicle and would increase the cost of
the mission as a result. Other ideas, like a lightweight plasma
bubble that could be generated in space are being explored, but
have disadvantages of their own (see Plasma bubble could protect
astronauts on Mars trip). Now, the NASA Institute for Advanced
Concepts (NIAC) in Atlant