The Israeli radiation shield will be flown to the space station on Saturday, and will be tested by the two astronauts

The AstroRad vest, developed by StemRad with the assistance of the Israeli Space Agency, protects the bodies of astronauts in deep space; The launch on Saturday - first pilot of the vest in real space conditions

The Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the StemRad company from Ramat Hayal, which develops wearable solutions for radiation protection, announced today that the AstroRad protective vest developed in Israel will be launched in the coming days to the International Space Station (ISS). The vest will be launched into space this Saturday, November 2, at 15:59 Israeli time, on the Cygnus NG-12 supply spacecraft that will be launched from the NASA base in Wallops Island, Virginia.

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AstroRad vests were developed to provide protection to astronauts' bodies from life-threatening radiation. The Israeli Space Agency, which supports StemRad's space activities, signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin in July 2018 for the launch of the AstroRad protective vest to the International Space Station (ISS), for the purpose of carrying out research and ergonomic experiments of the vest in the conditions of the absence of gravity prevailing in space. This, in continuation of the agreement signed with NASA and the German Space Agency (DLR) to carry out experiments with AstroRad vests on NASA's Orion spacecraft in orbit around the moon, which is expected to be the last test flight before the launch of manned spacecraft into deep space.

To date, all manned space exploration missions, except for the Apollo moon flight, have been limited to near-Earth orbit (up to 1,200 miles away), where the Earth's magnetic field protects the astronauts from most radiation threats in space, including deadly solar storms and galactic cosmic rays. However, in manned and longer missions in deep space, the threat of exposure to radiation increases significantly, and is one of NASA's biggest challenges on the way to launching manned missions to Mars. The technology developed by the Israeli StemRad may provide the solution for this.

As part of the experiments on the International Space Station that will begin soon, three American astronauts will wear the AstroRad vest in the gravitational conditions of the space station for varying periods of time and during routine activities. It will be the first time in history that the Israeli flag, which is emblazoned on the AstroRad vest, will be displayed on the International Space Station. After the experiment is completed, a research team from the US National Laboratory on the Space Station (CASIS) will evaluate the ergonomics, the range of motion, the experience of use and the general level of comfort of the vest in the natural environment of the astronauts in space, and will provide detailed and essential feedback to improve the vest.

The results of this experiment, together with real data on the level of protection against radiation that will be obtained from another experiment, which will be conducted on the Artemis-1 mission, will provide NASA with all the necessary information 1 to evaluate the AstroRad vests as an effective and essential tool to protect the astronauts' lives from lethal radiation in the planned missions in deep space , such as Artemis-2 as well as in the planned flights to Mars.

Avi Blasberger, director of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology: "The Israel Space Agency and the StemRad company are proud to work with NASA, Lockheed Martin, and our other partners in developing critical safety equipment to protect the lives of astronauts in space, thus promoting a new era of deep space research."

Dr. Oren Milstein, CEO of StemRad: "The success of the AstroRad vest experiments will result in a critical contribution by the State of Israel to NASA's most ambitious research program since the moon landing. Thanks to the cooperation between a number of professional and government bodies, led by Lockheed Martin and the Israel Space Agency, we are very close to an achievement that inspires pride for our space industry and the entire State of Israel."

Minister of Science and Technology, MK Ofir Akunis: "We are breaking records of Israeli activity, creation and initiative in all fields of science, and in the field of space in particular. I am proud of the developers of the first Israeli space suit. The Ministry of Science and Technology under my leadership will continue to support studies, developments in space exploration and other initiatives that bring us all great honor, national Israeli pride and international recognition of our achievements."

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• A vest for every astronaut
• Lockheed Martin and Israel's StemRad are testing a radiation shielding vest for first responders for possible use on space flights
• NASA will launch a radiation protection suit developed in Israel into space
• Israeli development for radiation protection will be launched into space as part of an agreement between the Israeli and German space agencies