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Old 04-August-2007, 06:03 AM
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Van Rijn Van Rijn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SLF:JAQ SFDJS View Post
How did they know during Apollo how much radiation shielding was needed for their spacecrafts and their space suits? They are not even sure today how much shielding they will need on the return to the moon.
If they want to go back for a short visit, like the Apollo flights, they can have pretty much the same shielding. If they want to go back and stay there a bit longer, they'll need more shielding. If they want to stay long term, they'll have to have even more shielding, and prepare for the occasional solar storm.

Quote:
But on the moon which is radioactive
Guess what? So are you. For instance, the potassium 40 in you accounts for a significant portion of your yearly radiation dosage. It's meaningless to say something is radioactive unless you quantify it. Pretty much everything is a little radioactive. The surface of the moon is radioactive in the same sense as you, a chunk of dirt, or ocean water is. That is to say: Not very.

Quote:
they were exposed to cosmic rays, solar radiation, x-rays, gamma rays, beta rays, protons, neutrons for days. Why didn't any of the Apollo astranouts get sick from the radiation?
Because there wasn't anywhere near enough radiation to cause radiation sickness. There wasn't even enough to significantly increase their chances of developing cancer.
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Last edited by Van Rijn; 04-August-2007 at 07:57 AM..
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