With NASA's crewed mission to the moon only a year away, first results from radiation experiments onboard Artemis 1 suggest short trips are within human limits, but longer missions or travel to Mars may be challenging.

The shielded areas in Nasa’s lunar spacecraft can protect astronauts travelling to the moon against the harmful effects of space radiation, research suggests. Chronic exposure to radiation can cause delayed medical problems such as cancer and premature ageing,

According to a large team of technical and health specialists, astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will be well protected from radiation when the Artemis II mission travels to the moon and back next year.

Space is full of radiation. Charged particles swarming interplanetary space mostly originate from the Sun with the occasional interloper from the rest of the Universe. On Earth, we are protected by it thanks to the planet’s magnetic field and the atmosphere – astronauts are not.