Wearable vest could shield astronauts from solar storms in deep space
StemRad's AstroRad vest, a wearable radiation shield designed to protect bone marrow-rich tissues, was tested on NASA’s Artemis I mission around the Moon. Using dosimeters and simulations, the vest reduced a 1972-style solar-storm dose by about 60% and a harder 1989-style event by about 40%, performing comparably to the Orion storm shelter but without restricting movement. Weighing 26 kg (with optimizations bringing it to 16 kg), the vest uses hexagonal HDPE rods to stay flexible, but it offers little protection against galactic cosmic rays. Real-world validation would require a real solar storm; researchers aim to further reduce weight while preserving protection.
