Alien creatures are the least of NASA's worries when it comes to
moon travel. There are several potential threats to future
missions - with space radiation at the top of the list. Now, a
group of students at North Carolina State University has
developed a "blanket" of sorts that covers lunar outposts - the
astronauts' living quarters - to provide astronauts protection
against radiation while also generating and storing power.
Astronauts who previously traveled to the moon had little
protection against radiation, but were only exposed to it for a
short amount of time. NASA's plans to return astronauts to the
moon by 2020 - and to potentially keep them there for several
months at a time - could be stymied by space radiation. The
surface of the moon is exposed to cosmic rays and solar flares -
making radiation hard to stop with shielding. When these rays
hit matter, they produce a dangerous spray of secondary
particles which, when penetrating human flesh, can damage DNA,
boosting the risk of cancer and other mal