Exposure to cosmic rays is a major health threat to astronauts leaving Earth’s atmosphere or heading on missions to Mars. A significant challenge is figuring out how to protect crewmembers from these deadly cosmic rays. One option is to make shields out of stainless steel and other materials; however, they’d have to be shipped from Earth, which is expensive and complicated.
Scientists from The Johns Hopkins University and Stanford have found a potential solution that uses radiation-absorbing fungus found at the destroyed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to build shields. The fungus was tested on the International Space Station (ISS), and it successfully blocked some cosmic rays, giving hope that it could be used to protect future Mars colonies and safe space travel.
The ISS study was published on July 17 in the Preprint Server for Biology. It found that an ultra-thin sample of the fungus called Cryptococcus neoformans, blocked and absorbed 2% of the cosmic rays while it was on the ISS. Even though that may sound like a small number, the sample in question was only 2-mm thick. The scientists estimate that a 21-centimeter-thick layer would be enough to keep astronauts safe.
Nils Averesch, the co-author of the study, said:
What makes the fungus great is that you only need a few grams to start out. It self-replicates and self-heals, so even if there’s a solar flare that damages the radiation shield significantly, it will be able to grow back in a few days.
Additionally, some of the material could be weaved into spacesuit fabric, but the leading potential lies in how the damaged fungus shield could grow back and how it could be grown on Mars.
