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LiveScience
LiveScience
Patrick Pester

Astronauts can face 'nearly lethal doses' of solar radiation — so why launch Artemis II during the sun's peak of activity? Space scientist Patricia Reiff explains.

A photo of the sun rising above the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. .

Artemis II's astronauts are about to take off for a record-breaking flight around the moon, giving NASA a rare opportunity to study how deep spaceflight affects the human body.

After leaving Earth's protective magnetic field, the four-person crew will be more exposed to space weather — which includes high-energy eruptions of radiation from the sun, known as solar flares.

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