Artemis II astronauts gather first deep-space radiation data
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- Artemis II astronauts traveled more than 1,000 times the distance from Earth to the International Space Station, placing them outside Earth's protective magnetosphere and into unshielded cosmic radiation
- NASA equipped the Orion capsule with radiation sensors, drew pre-flight blood samples for post-trip comparison, collected crew saliva throughout the mission, and monitored vitals via smartwatches
- NASA placed computer chips in the capsule that replicate bone marrow physiology — a tissue 'most quickly affected by radiation and other stressors,' according to the agency's Human Research Program chief scientist
- Steven Platts, NASA's Human Research Program chief scientist, predicted the mission will reveal 'a lot more galactic cosmic radiation... which is from supernovas' compared to solar radiation
- Platts said radiation can cause brain inflammation and raise Parkinson's disease risk, noting impacts on the central nervous system and blood circulation — not just cancer
- The 10-day Artemis II trip keeps radiation manageable, but Platts warned the danger could rise dramatically with longer moon stays, making the data a preview of future exposure levels
- Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society, said 50 years of medical advances since Apollo mean the new health data will be far richer than anything captured in the original lunar program
- Platts flagged mental health as potentially the greatest danger on long-duration missions, comparing the ISS to a 'six-bedroom house, like a mansion' and the Orion capsule to a 'camper van'
Why it matters: Artemis II's 10-day lunar flyby is NASA's first deep-space test of its radiation monitoring pipeline, with the agency warning that longer moon or Mars missions will see dramatically higher exposure to galactic cosmic rays that can cause brain inflammation and raise Parkinson's risk. The bone-marrow-chip and smartwatch data also lay groundwork for medical surveillance on future crewed deep-space missions.
