Deep Fried Astronauts
Back in 1967 the Bellcomm put together a study for the then Manned now Marshall Spaceflight Center. The mission was a one year human flyby of Venus . The study included some innovative stuff, like using the Earth departure stage tanks as a living module after venting any remaining fuel into space, but it also contains a fair bit of misinformation about radiation exposure, advocating that no attempt be made to shield against galactic cosmic radiation. This is to be expected. What isn't expected is that this is still the general consensus today, even though a more recent computational study has provided some interesting numbers for various shielding materials. Shield Material (5g/cm^2) Annual radiation dose (mSv*) Aluminum 542 Polyethylene 450 Iron 581 * Quality factor recommended in ICRP-60 is assumed. This looks pretty good when the astronaut lifetime radiation limits are considered. Astronaut age Career effective dose limits (mSv, average life loss) Males Female...