The science of survival on Mars: What really protects astronauts from radiation

Effective radiation shielding materials such as plastics, rubber, synthetic fibers and Martian soil have been identified as protecting astronauts on Mars, increasing the viability of long-duration missions and future settlement plans

New research may help design homes and protective spacesuits, making extended missions to Mars more viable.

New findings highlight several materials, including certain plastics, rubber, synthetic fibers and Martian soil, as effective radiation shielding materials for astronauts on Mars. This finding paves the way for safer long-term human missions and supports future settlement efforts, such as the UAE's Mars 2117 project.

Radiation protection on Mars

Scientists have identified certain materials, including plastics, rubber and synthetic fibers, as well as Martian soil (regolith), that can effectively protect astronauts by blocking harmful space radiation on Mars. These findings may be used to design homes and protective spacesuits, making long-duration missions to Mars more viable. Since Mars lacks a thick atmosphere and magnetic field like Earth, astronauts exploring the planet will be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

Dimitra Attri, researcher at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science and leader of the Mars Research Group at New York University in Abu Dhabi, and lead author Dionysios Gakis of the University of Patras in Greece, report these new findings in the paper "A Model of the Effectiveness of Radiation Shielding Materials for the Protection of Astronauts on Mars," published in the journal The European Physical Journal Plus.

Simulation and efficiency of materials

Using computer models to simulate the radiation conditions on Mars, the researchers tested standard and new materials to see which ones excelled at shielding against cosmic radiation, and determined that composite materials such as certain plastics, rubber and synthetic fibers would protect well. Martian soil (regolith) was also somewhat effective and could be used as an additional layer of protection. In addition, they showed that the commonly used aluminum can also be beneficial when combined with other low atomic number materials. The study also used real data from Mars, collected by NASA's Curiosity rover, to verify these findings.

Effects on future missions to Mars

"This breakthrough improves astronaut safety and makes long-duration missions to Mars a more realistic possibility," Attri said. "It supports the future of human space exploration and the possibility of establishing human bases on Mars, including the UAE's Mars 2117 project and its goal of establishing a city on Mars by 2117."

"Different materials were tested in a simulated Martian environment, making our results directly applicable to future missions and enabling optimization of the combination between advanced materials and natural resources available on Mars," Gakis added.

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