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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Photo: New Space Shield May Help Make Mars Mission Reality


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Astronauts living in the International Space Station are partially protected from deadly interstellar radiation by Earth's magnetic field, but they also have a tiny shielded shelter for intense space weather.

A much lighter, safer material, however, is needed to guard travelers on the long journey to Mars—and one NASA scientist says a substance known as graphite nanofiber may be it.

Photograph by STS-115 Shuttle Crew, NASA