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Astronauts could survive radiation on Mars, scientists say
By Monte Morin
November 17, 2012, 8:56 a.m.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-mars-radiation-20121116,0,1001455.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Astronauts on a future mission to Mars could survive radiation levels on the Red Planet’s surface, according to a NASA expert.

At a recent press briefing, the scientist in charge of monitoring radiation data collected by the Curiosity Mars rover said energy levels on the planet’s surface fluctuate with time of day and the season but are roughly equivalent to what astronauts experience now in the International Space Station.

“Absolutely, astronauts can live in this environment,” said Don Hassler, of Boulder, Colo.’s, Southwest Research Institute. Hassler is the principal investigator for Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD.

“It’s never really been a question of if we can go to Mars, it’s a matter of when we go, how do we best protect our astronauts,” Hassler said.

On Earth, life is shielded from powerful radiation emitted by the sun and other cosmic sources by a thick atmosphere and a magnetic field. Mars however lacks those qualities, and visiting astronauts would be exposed to far higher levels of radiation.

Hassler said that even though the RAD has yet to experience a solar flare or storm — an event that would greatly increase radiation levels — it should be possible to manage the overall dosage of radiation that astronauts will sustain during a two-year mission to Mars.