Radiation-shielding vest aced Artemis I lunar test, could protect astronauts on moon and Mars missions

NASA's uncrewed Orion spacecraft, seen during the Artemis I mission to lunar orbit in late 2022.

A radiation-shielding vest might one day protect astronauts from dangerous, random outbursts from the sun, a new study finds.

More than 50 years after the final Apollo mission, NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the moon. To succeed, this project must protect astronauts from solar radiation, especially the intense and unpredictable radiation from solar storms. Coating an entire spacecraft with a meaningfully thick layer of radiation shielding remains impractical due to weight constraints, but wrapping astronauts in protective garments may potentially be helpful.