How do you Protect Spacecraft from the Radiation of Space?

Get MagellanTV here: try.magellantv... & get an exclusive offer extended to our viewers: an extra month FREE. MagellanTV is a new kind of streaming service run by filmmakers with 3,000+ documentaries! Check out our personal recommendation and MagellanTV’s exclusive playlists: www.magellantv...
Far from calm and peaceful, space is a dangerous place with high levels of radiation not only from our sun but from distant supernovas. This is not only dangerous to us but also to the spacecraft themselves with is able to damage the electronics and computers that keep it running and the crew alive in it.
So how do they protect the craft and crew with what looks like almost no shielding at all.
This video is sponsored my Magellan TV. try.magellantv...
Written, researched and presented by Paul Shillito
Images and footage by NASA, ESA, Space Engine, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
NISENet, expertmathstutor, Wetsoil Private limited, University of Washington.
We would also like to thank all of our Patreons too :-)
Alan Johns
Allan Versaevel
Alok G Singh
Andrew SMITH
Bobby Up
Brandon Acosta
Brian Kelly
Cash Garman
Cody Belichesky
Collin Copfer
Damien Pasche
Daniele Noacco
Donovan Campbell
Giacomo Catenazzi
Henri Saussure
Johan Rombaut
john edwards
Jonathan Merage
Jonathan Travers
Juerg Hurni
Kai Spuhler
Kevin Hinnen
Laurent Steck
Lorne Diebel
László Antal
Marco Mangen
Mark Koontz
Peter Barber
Prashanth Ruthala
Pyloric
SHAMIR
Sk1er
stefan hufenbach
Steve J - LakeCountySpacePort
Thomas Branch
Vincent
Walt Dennig
Music from the KZbin library
Attraction by Density & Time
Heaven and Hell by Jeremy Blake
Phantom by Density & Time
Precipice by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommon...)
Artist: www.twinmusicom...
Dreamscape by Density & Time
Ether Real by Density & Time

[@Emerson_-vv8vr]

As a radiographer, being asked why we get to stand behind shielded glass and why the patient doesn't is a fairly common query 😂 One of my favourite analogies is: "If a bartender had a shot with every person that bought a drink from his bar, do you think he'd be still standing at the end of his shift?" Great content as always 👍

[@Templemain]

That's funny, a very good analogy. But better for a not so courageous person such as me. We evolved to live on Earth over millions of years. Until we have solved all our Earthly problems and there are millions of them, lets stay HOME! Space has been there for billions of years. It can wait!

[@nicosmind3]

Yeah but a bartender whos drinking with you is a fun guy or gal

[@QuickWatchstayhappy]

tik toks to watch if you love space💫 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ2lc36niZmemqM.

[@geraldpitt8657]

But the machine is not behind the shielding, so I think they miss the point of why they are in the room in the first place :)

[@jacknickolstine3355]

But the technology was destroyed, don petit said so . Do you deny?! Deny SCIENCE !!

[@badlaamaurukehu]

That shirt is radioactive.

[@AkaAndyKnuckles]

At least it is cosmic.

[@glumpy6079]

It's shagadelic baby .

[@SystemBD]

In a previous "life", that shirt was, actually, a curtain from the 1950s.

[@Frazoor]

Don't you dare ever disrespect the shirt. Pleb.

[@rodgermyles2871]

Yep, that's where the sound track is coming from.

[@CujoHyer]

The Van Halen radiation belt really shreds.

[@FloraJoannaK]

True, it is also known to Erupt now and then.

[@701Builder]

This shred causes a flanging effect and tapping noise on the skin of the spacecraft. This creates an unchained reaction in the crews DNA solved by replacing the 1 meter water jacket surrounding the spacecraft with Jack Daniels.

[@LichaelMewis]

And so does the Dimebag Darrel belt.

[@vaclav_fejt]

Ready for a Jump into the hyperspace?

[@ExSheriffFattyBoySkinnyArms]

Cujo AAAAAAAAHH I C WHAT U DID THERE!!! coz van halen ....

[@WCL31986]

One of the best channels on KZbin. Great content Paul!!

[@stupidburp]

For long term use we will probably need to use a combination of these methods: Z graded shielding surrounded by large water tanks in the outer hull which are in turn surrounded by active shielding. For extra safety additional modular external fuel and water tanks could surround the space ship to reduce total dose when needed. The amount of radiation can be extreme in some parts of our solar system, such as near Jupiter. Multiple trips to asteroids, Mars, or Venus could also present a serious hazard from cumulative dose. In addition to the ship itself, the crew will probably wear protective gear, especially around the head, torso, and most importantly the hips. Protecting the hips is critical because of the large mass of bone marrow there - this bone marrow will greatly increase odds of recovery from a large dose. Some equipment is designed to focus protection on the hips for this reason.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Stu Bur - Solar radiation can be attenuated by 15 cm of water or similar material. The problem is cosmic radiation, & that’s the same in the Asteroid Belt & Near Saturn as near Mars & Venus - people on the surface of Mars or the moon or in the ISS receive slightly less than 1/2 the dose they’d receive on an unshielded ship en route to those destinations. See page 14 on the following for astronauts’ exposures to radiation www.nasa.gov/pdf/376589main_04%20-%20Mars%20Direct%20Power%20Point-7-30-09.pdf spaceflightuk.com/2015/05/05/invalid-claims-made-for-what-happens-to-your-brain-on-the-way-to-mars-publication/

[@bencoad8492]

I was going to say the same, a hybrid system would be best that maximize shielding while reducing mass as much as possible.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Putting the crew quarters inside the fuel tank sounds a bit mad but is probably a good idea.

[@aussie_al]

I'm positive it's been looked in to but with everything I've seen about Graphene i was wondering if that would be a suitable material for protection.

[@matth9103]

@@TraditionalAnglican Some great information in those links! The latter also has a great statement from Robert Zubrin, in his customary form of expression: "For example, if an individual were to drink one shot of vodka per second for 100 seconds, he would die. But if the same person drank one shot of vodka a month for 100 months, he would experience no ill effects at all. This is about the same ratio of dose rates as that which separates the invalid work reported in the “What happens to your brain on the way to Mars” paper (1.6 rad per second) from that which would be experienced by astronauts in space (1 rad per month.)".

[@gwaters8067]

5:50 "oops, didn't need that part anyway"

[@NautilusGuitars]

Or as the kids say, "Yeet!" lol I saw that too and looked to see if anyone commented on it. Pretty funny seeing some small part just spin its way into the void haha.

[@MostCriminalKK]

Wonder how far it’s got

[@nicksalvatore5717]

Now its space debris that will wreck satellites lol

[@970357ers]

How effective is ice at absorbing radiation? Ice is less dense than liquid water, so if similarly effective, would need less of it, plus water would need heating to keep it liquid.

[@noliver7913]

My total guess is it's dependent on the density of the hydrogen, though I wonder if the order of the crystaline structure would also figure in? Idle speculation, need an actual expert 😅

[@Gooberpatrol66]

Spacecraft have trouble radiating heat, so it would be hard to keep the water solid

[@970357ers]

If radiation absorption is affected by hydrogen content, would liquid hydrogen be best? If so, could also be used as fuel for the return leg.

[@shauljonah6955]

Look at common materials on the periodic table and maybe woven fabrics it would not be to complicated.

[@brentgreeff1115]

Sounds like we either need a water-station in orbit so we can fly the stuff up there, and then fill the jacket in orbit. - It might be even better to get the water in space, - If we cant get enough from the moon then maybe catch some comets nearby. - The new world would not exist without gold - only kings & the richest people at the time could afford expeditions, but the mining of resources changed all that very quickly.

[@Sircarxalot]

Did he say "two-bloke crew quarters"? Definitely haven't heard it called that before! Lovely video! As always, lots of little detail that one may not have heard before - like Z-graded materials!

[@zapfanzapfan]

Tube-like :-)

[@andrewmurray1550]

All it means is a two-berth cabin. Nothing strange about that.

[@johnturner4400]

Kids in school 2150. Who was the first bloke on mars?

[@matonmongo]

Actually I love hearing the occasional 'British-isms'. It's part of the charm that makes dry 'sciencey' stuff like this much more interesting.

[@CmdrEsteban]

He means there’s room enough for a couple o’ geezers.

[@sasshole8121]

@ 9:23 Wish I went on field trips to reactor cores when I was growing up.

[@massimookissed1023]

I went on a school trip to a reactor nearby. It was a small experimental one, not for electricity production. We saw Cherenkov radiation, and it does look like that picture :) It was in a deep water tank used to hold used reactor fuel rods.

[@pipe2devnull]

My classmates did. I asked them if they were served fission chips for lunch.

[@nicosmind3]

I love the irony from flat Earthers saying "we cant survive the Van Allen belts" which means they believe scientists that theyre there, but not believing the same scientists who say we can survive them. Leaving this before i read that comment cause it always happens on these vids

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

Cherrypicking.

[@LiberalsGettheBulletToo]

That's because those people aren't flat-earthers. They suspect the moon-landings were faked as part of a Soviet Cold-war race. Flat Earth is a completely different thing with an entirely different premise. You've got Project-112, The Dugway Sheep incident, MKULTRA and the Rainbow Agents, but there's no reason to mistrust the Government institutions of the era...

[@massimookissed1023]

@@DonVigaDeFierro cHeRriEs Я fLaT !!1!

[@waynesimpson2074]

It's mainly the Moon Landing deniers that are perplexed by the 'impossibility' of navigating humans through the Van Allen belts. Quite rightly they point out the radiation dangers of the VABs but they go quiet when I ask them if they're aware of who was responsible for calculating the trajectory of the the Apollo missions through the VABs? Yes, James Alfred Van Allen himself.

[@bobthebomb1596]

Many people belong to both camps.

[@ScottRedstone]

It amazes me how much experimental and development is required for space travel. Multiple layers in decreasing density materials to create a radiation shield. Your videos provide info and insight to the incredible achievements in science. Thank you for this work.

[@maxant4285]

This is the only KZbin channel host that pronounces "sputnik" correctly.

[@MagnumGreenPanther]

But it butchers Magellan

[@maxant4285]

@@MagnumGreenPanther Nobody is perfect.

[@gibbo9089]

@@MagnumGreenPanther but it makes it sounds "expensive"

[@BloatedBumbleBee]

And pronounces z (zed) like an American (zey). Biggest let down. So annoying. I’m fine with Americans. But someone who is British. Nope.

[@Gurumeierhans]

I hate that most english speakers aren´t able to pronounce non-english work in a way they don´t poke native speakers eardrums

[@harpersneil]

Just signed up for Magellan and was able to install the app on my 4k TV. Only skimmed through the content briefly so far, but it's looks really top notch. Plus I know I'm supporting my favourite Science KZbin channel - thanks for all the great content.

[@EMBer3000]

A costly but relatively light solution might be to wrap your spacecraft in superconducting wire and run your electrical supply through it. This would create a magnetic field without costing you anything extra. If the spacecraft is expected to encounter a solar flare you ramp up your energy usage and production for a temporarily stronger protection. Having some high power batteries would probably be a good idea, the powerdraw could perhaps be the running of a ion engine pointed into the event to collide with some of the charged mass to slow/divert it. The cooling of the superconducting wire could be done with liquid nitrogen that could also be the reserve cold gas reaction mass and the energy required to keep it cool could be what the base protection level would be. I don't know how to calculate the strength of a magnetic field coming from a wire with a kilowatt of power running through it, though just from remembering some basic physics it should be more effective if a high amperage/low voltage system is used. 12V for the win?

[@geraldpitt8657]

Why not a mixture of layered light shielding and then a water tank shield that only surrounds the crew sleeping pods? That way they could lower dosage over the average day when sleeping and should they have a detectable event they can retreat to their bunks to ride out the worst of it.

[@HorzaPanda]

That has been proposed for potential Mars missions, effectively at least anyway. In Red Mars the spaceship has a safe room in the middle of its water tank so in the event of a solar storm all the crew can shelter there

[@Sutterjack]

Love the shirts! (and the great content!). You could do a video speculating what fashion will look like in the 22nd century as you are on the cutting edge yourself-

[@Imperialismusic]

9:29 Now i didn't know that, i love learning new stuff...

[@aj010139]

Thought someone spiked my tea with acid or shrooms when I saw your shirt lol

[@bobthebomb1596]

I am going to have to buy some of those shirts just to watch people's reactions :D

[@andersrese]

Greetings from Norway, thanks for posting yet an interesting video!

[@MagnumGreenPanther]

Patreons should be eligible to purchase raffle tickets for his used shirts

[@theobserver9131]

Um....eww? Not that anyone would want my used shirts, but even if they did, that would kind of weird me out.

[@theobserver9131]

I can't wear hand-me-downs unless I feel really in sync with the person who handed them down to me. I know, that's pretty weird.

[@SkylersRants]

Would anyone want them? They're more than a little loud.

[@biopack5307]

Under pants .. 🤠

[@Chasmodius]

I think Patreon has some pretty strict requirements against raffles (due to varying local state laws on gambling, I believe?), though that may have changed since I heard about it.

[@zapfanzapfan]

5:05 In radiation therapy it's the opposite, stretched out over time the dose is survivable but if given all at once it would be deadly.

[@CallanElliott]

Which is what he said. He said that a moderate dose over a long period does more damage than a a single large dose, I'd assume that if you stretched out the larger dose it'd still be lethal.

[@buckhorncortez]

What do you know about radiation therapy? There are all different kinds of radiation therapy, including implants, directed radiation and full mantle radiation to name only a few. Then there is the choice of energy particles electrons or photons depending upon the type of machine used or radiation source. Why are you attempting to make a broad generalization about something that is so specialized? I was radiated 180 RADS a day with photons from a 13MEV linear accelerator for cumulative dose of 9,200 rads - how about you?

[@phantomwalker8251]

its so that hopefully,you have more good cells left than cancer cells.if you die,it was the cancer,excuse.....i know of 3 people,that have been murdered,cos they could cure all cancer,,theres a doctor now,trying to get his cure thru ,but being fogged off..as the pharmasutical co,s will lose billions,,its all money,,dont ever,,forget that..!!.

[@zapfanzapfan]

@Buckhorn Cortez I suggest this talk from the Mars Society convention kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKTIY2BvZ6qdbcU

[@zhubajie6940]

Great Job. The shielding issue is why I advocate for a few Aldrin Cycler Space Stations. This would be like building a railroad over taking covered wagons. These stations could be heavy with shielding and use spin for "gravity" while being used on continuous missions ferrying humans to and from say Mars or the Moon without the debilitating effects of free-fall and ionizing radiation uncertainties and risks. The energy expenditure could be mostly to get everything into started into the orbits the first time but then can be used over and over (sounds like SpaceX, i.e. don't throw it away technology if it can be helped). This is a combination of technology of vonBraun's Space Wheel and Purdue's cycler.

[@WetaMantis]

Couldn't you use some amount of the water in the shielding for crew consumption? making it useful. Also if you can recover the water from the crew like on the ISS, you should have a closed loop system with a shield that doesn't deplete too fast. Though the amount of water is important.

[@beesod6412]

Glad you're still making videos, thank you!

[@LewisEdwards1990]

"De-acceleration" 😅 Love the work you do though Paul, great quality and content 👍

[@pipe2devnull]

pfft non-physicist. (eye roll)

[@Pottery4Life]

@@pipe2devnull It's just an acceleration in the opposite direction.

[@DouglasLippi]

@@pipe2devnull my high school physics teacher used to day it all the time. Made me smile 😊

[@FourthRoot]

There are lots of solutions to the radiation problem. Which approach you take depends on the mission profile. Propellant itself could be used as shielding. As could regolith from asteroids, Deimos, or our moon. Magnetic shielding works well when combined with cryogenic propellants as the propellant itself can be used to keep a superconducting field generator below its transition temperature.

[@HorzaPanda]

I've always thought that just calling it radiation is over-simplistic and somewhat counterproductive. Stopping gamma rays is a significantly different task to stopping charged particles

[@philipcooper8297]

Finally someone addressing the space radiation being a really issue. Other youbook videos are just about how cool it will be, when we colonise Mars.

[@Szydencer]

I'm now wondering if there is a way to harvest water in space in the future. Imagining the vast rotating habitats with shallow seas lining their outer walls. Though if you can build a cylinder that can contain this, the structure probably provides enough radiation shielding already.

[@kumardigvijaymishra5945]

Launching with tons of water is simply not gonna work unless water is supplying energy through nuclear fission. Considering that to be currently unsafe, perhaps another method could be to harness water from orbiting asteroid on way to moon or Mars.

[@SonKunSama]

Thanks again, mr. Shillito. You not only brighten my day with all that Corona but also make me more intelligent. In high school I had some good teachers and many bad ones. You would belong to the former.

[@ToplabAt]

Paul, thank you for addressing water as radiation shield. I thought about this years ago and why it is not a current option. However, I have not in mind how much earth to orbit flights it would take to bring 300t of water up for equipping a spacecraft for a Mars mission... hmm.. it would depend on the carrier system. Nevertheless a water reservoir would be needed by humans and plants for living. If it is located in the hull a radiation shielding effect is an essential added value...

[@dr.a006]

For anyone who doesn’t visually understand radiation or charged particles, Paul’s shirt is a good representation.

[@bjm6275]

Thanks for the video and soliciting for comments. Making crafts with the capability to produce electromagnetic fields as shielding is excellent. But more is definitely needed. Crafts also need to have they capability to produce plasma shielding similar to the atmosphere of the sun, and the earth as a gas. Perhaps ozone would be added protection. This three part shielding should be light enough and enough protection around the metal shells of space crafts. 1 ozone (inner most) 2 plasma (middle) 3 electromagnetic field (outermost)

[@misternewoutlook5437]

Most people grow up, myself included, that space is empty. I have no idea how they are going to solve this. We made a cloud chamber in science class and it really opens your eyes to what we are bombarded with every second. Out in space, a cloud chamber would be filled up with particle trails. We do know they are working on it, but they've also been working on it for decades without a satisfactory answer.

[@lavaljeantet]

So wonderfully scenarized and didactically perfect. And, over all, so nice to hear such a distinguish crystal-clear accent...So easily understandable for a french guy....millions lightyears from the Texan slang or Chicago's suburbs...... :-)

[@Focusembedded]

Something a lot of people don't realize is that things like the advanced rovers on Mars are using 20+ year old technology in no small part because the transistor geometries are enough larger in older parts than in the current generation that when a charged particle hits, it does proportionately less damage. Think of getting in an accident with a compact car as opposed to getting in one with a massive truck. What makes working on this stuff interesting is that there's a generation of new engineers who haven't had to deal with the 20+ year old technology because they're just too young to have seen it. And here I personally am helping debug memory circuits on spacecraft -- with my colleagues of similar 50-year-old to 70-year-old ages -- because we were around in 2000 when this stuff was new. There's quite a bit more to the movie _Space Cowboys_ than you'd imagine. A lot of bright young kids make the trip from Caltech to NASA-JPL. But they keep a few old fogies around to deal with some of the "radiation hardened" circuit design.

[@Kevin_Street]

Thank you for making this video! For anyone interested in the human exploration of space, this is _the_ limiting factor. It's simply the biggest problem we need to deal with, after the problems involved with physically getting there and back. Wouldn't it be nice if we could mine water on the Moon? That would make Mars missions much easier.

[@1_2_die2]

Fantastic, fascinating and high quality - as always 👍 To the question at the end: As a 1 meter thick wall of water is way too heavy for actual spacecraft technology. What's about snow, really fine powdered snow in a hydrogen rich foam material with lots of nitrogen in it?

[@charjl96]

5:51 Yay, more space debris. Good job, guy

[@philchurch927]

Great video, but could have done with some shielding from his shirt!!!

[@rongaul8169]

Wow. Such simple engineering. What marvellous materials will come in the future.

[@io4439]

Yout shirt instantly took me back to the 1970's

[@tedbaxter5234]

Thank you for this entertainment during the Virus event we are experiencing! Stay safe and healthy!

[@ravenlord4]

As nanotech increases, we might just put up with the radiation, and have the nanobots in the body constantly repairing basic damage. And perhaps longer time in a med bay for repair of more serious damage.

[@massimookissed1023]

But then you have to trust nanobots which are themselves being bombarded by radiation. That could lead to a whole new type of megacancer, or they just grey goo your body into more nanobots.

[@Cepheid_]

I think metamaterials may have a big impact in dealing with radiation. There's already been some progress made with experimental materials that look promising. Condensed matter physics and photonics in particular are severely underrated in my opinion.

[@OldFartGrows]

You are one of the few YT nerds that would like this. NASA has come to visit us on multiple occasions because we are a commercial aquaponics in Half Moon Bay. For the last 8 years we have delivered 18-20 acres of food out of 1/6 of an acre. In other words, extreme nutrition in little space. This makes the one meter of H2O serve more than double duty. If you are ever in the San Francisco area hit me up and I will arrange a private tour for you. Have a GROOVY Day, tommyj

[@weinerwhistl3]

Another top notch video Paul, thanks for doing all of this for my brain.

[@zohanrock]

Although greatly reduced, we still get bombarded by cosmic rays on the surface of the earth or even underground as these charged particles are so small they pass thru everything. As a spectroscopist we see this all the time on our instruments as the rays hits the detector and causes a spike in our readings. I'm just surprised that hardly anyone is aware of this and the blank looks I get from phd students when trying to explain it to them but it is delightful to see a momentary awe and wonder on their faces as they learn something new.

[@RCAvhstape]

I like how you measure crew sizes in blokes.

[@donhull2440]

At about 7:55 you say that a tetrafluoroethylene tissue was used as part of the shielding in the original Apollo capsule.. Tetrafluoroethelene is a gas. You have to polymerize it into a plastic to get a tissue of it. The most common forms of polymerized tetrafluoroethylene are Teflon and Fluon. These polymers are generally not considered flammable, but at temperatures above about 260°C Teflon starts to break down and emit toxic fumes. The capsule was stupidly filled with 100% oxygen at one atmosphere but are you sure that you are right about it being a tissue of Teflon and if Teflon is flammable under these conditions?

[@catlee8064]

Paul....you have outdone yourself with that shirt....Well done sir!

[@motokid6008]

I think its going to be a very hard, sickly life for space pioneers. Just like the first explorers. But it must be done.

[@heinrikeayala6350]

Excellent video as always, Paul! :D Though I must say, I was surprised radiation shielding on the Martian surface wasn't discussed. I've been skeptical of long-duration habitation on Mars because of such high radiation from the thin atmosphere and weak magnetic field. Apparently we could build habitats from the surface material itself, but I haven't heard as much discussion regarding the vehicles we'll use to get there, or the suits human would have to use. Maybe someone with more specific knowledge could explain further... Still, I really enjoyed the content!

[@Ceruleanbocis]

I vote build a o'neill cylinder In orbit and only go to the planet, if and when needed.

[@simongeard4824]

@Wroger Wroger Pretty much... bury your habitat under a few metres of rock, and you're sorted.

[@sebber7992]

3:15 When ionizing radiation "robs" an atom of some of its electrons, it doesn't take all of them. So, they don't leave "just the atomic nucleous" behind. It changes the atom from "non-charged state" (equal amount of electrons and protons) to an ion (an electrically charged atom) by taking one or more. Just a slight correction. I'm sorry but the chemical engineer in me wouldn't let me go to sleep if I didn't correct you. Great content, as usual!

[@dma2k5]

I like the way you say „Bremsstrahlung“. Thanks for this great video!

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

I must Say, that shirt really "Pops" on my Tv! :P Nice video and great cinematography!

[@jari2018]

Actually both 1 and the second backup can malfuntion if the 2nd is in the line of sight for the particle hitting the first .So you would need 3. Unless its a particle from the 5th dimension which would be impossible.

[@studio80h80]

Beryllium of course. Be foil will shield the cabin. The fourth lightest element , H,He,Li,Be. Very expensive! Be windows are made and installed to look into a nuclear core. Canada has tons of Be - but you will have to cut down whole mountains to process enough, nasty dirty process with tons of hazardous waste . Best bet is to find a Be rich asteroid and tow it to the spot in space where you will build the spacecraft and process it in space. Emeralds are 12% Be. It is safe if you don't breathe the Be dust (Berylliosis in the lungs) while machining or processing. Good luck!

[@studio80h80]

Use robots to process it.

[@johnrobinson4445]

GCR goes right through Be foil. No?

[@SjMk1.]

Good lil video, would have been interesting to have a spotlight on Space X's solution.

[@mickeyg.c.1654]

Dude THx so much for responding!!

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

Anton Petrov, another great channel, mentioned a paper in which the radiation protection properties of oxides, and especially of gadolinium oxide, were being considered as novel radiation shields, and they may also be used in future spacecraft designs.

[@bencoad8492]

o can you link the video? radiation is why alot of people poo poo spacecraft

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

@@bencoad8492 Here it is. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iV6cq3mLhbl9Zsk

[@MntRprznt]

Just checked that Magellan TV and it looks really good, especially in quarantine :) Free 4k trial? Sounds like a treat.

[@jezwarren-clarke2471]

“If you find that you have more time on your hands these days” (sorry to badly paraphrase you) Not a chance, this lock down in the U.K. is driving me nuts. Home schooling and being the only play friend and farther to my only child is keeping me busy. Thanks

[@CuriousBipedal]

Excellent video. I wish my space-deniers would watch it. They think that space travel should be as mindlessly easy as it is in 1960s sc-fi movies. Space travel is hard to do, and unless you are intimate with the realities of physics, venturing into space is a deadly decision.

[@chaoslab]

"If you are finding yourself with more spare time these days". OOF! XD

[@Reggy2000]

Paul, at the end you talk about the use of magnetic fields to protect the craft from charged particles. On an episode of the universe on the history channel, they talked about using magnetic fields for propulsion!!! I have looked around for more info but as of right now I can’t find much that I can understand. I think that would be a good topic for your audience!!!

[@britexitengineer1407]

This is one of the reasons why NASA did an enormous amount of work on material science during the Apollo program.

[@longlakeshore]

The answer is to keep humans on Earth. Send robots to planets and deep space. Lots of them. Not like the few we've sent so far.

[@DrewNorthup]

At the moment I'm more worried about being irradiated by your shirt.

[@filipskotnica971]

Why not use *hydrogen* and *oxygen* (rocket fuel) as rad. shield instead of H2O? The spacecraft will still have lots of it once it gets to Mars (for landing). It's weight that you would have to carry anyway, so why not use it as shield. Also if you stack the hydrogen layer on top of the oxygen layer you could get a slight rad. dispersal effect as talked about here 8:23 (because atomic weights of H2 is 2, and for O2 it's 32)

[@jdb79jdb79]

I really love your videos, I thumbs up all that I watch. Keep it up!!

[@veronicats100]

Human planetary travel is an ultimate death sentence. Robots have done a marvelous job of it so far and will continue. Interstellar travel is probably a quick death sentence but it will not happen for many hundreds of years if ever.

[@MiddleIrvington]

I feel that first, SpaceX is by far the most likely organization to launch spacecraft to Mars due to it's numerous launches and consistent, safe track record. Second, we need faster spacecraft (ion-driven, for example). Third, for the time being, water can be mined on the Moon or multiple SpaceX Starships can carry sufficient water to Mars ships to protect the astronauts. While we're talking about near-future space travel, I strongly urge all those concerned to begin combining something like Musk's hyperloop concept with a spacecraft to more affordably and reliably launch outgoing vehicles. Also, to better protect the health of astronauts, gyroscopic/spinning space vehicles are vital!

[@bazoo513]

Paul, I used your promo link for the Magellan trial and watched one program, the one supposed to be about interstellar travel. The poorest of your videos is an order of magnitude better. I will give them some more chance, but I am not holding my breath. Keep good work!

[@isakoqv]

- Hey can we go to space? - NO - Why? - The sun is a deadly laser

[@1KJRoberts]

Okay, I'll grant you this idea might seem like it came from the proverbial, 'bloak at the end of the bar', Use the 'Space Elevator' concept and devise a straw to transport water to an astro-aqua mule ship that rendezvous with the space craft in lunar orbit and transfers the water to the Mars destined craft. Yeah, alright, I'll have another drink and go back to capitalizing numbers.

[@JediNg135]

A water layer on the outside sounds great. On smaller craft, the water would take upa larger fraction of the total volume (and therefore mass) of the spacecraft. But if / when we build larger craft, maybe a little further into the future, the water would take u pa smaller fraction of the ship's total mass. Maybe that system would be more economical then?

[@guerradan1958]

I can only hope that this vid is reviewed for questions. Does the Suns protect us from other deadly cosmic rays outside or beyond its influence?

[@Puchacz83]

I wonder, if for the need of emergency situation use only, it wouldn't be feasible to place in an "emergency room" inside a spacecraft shielded with aro 20-30 cm of water from every side. Amount of water needed would be way smaller than shielding whole craft and crew could easly spent there aro 2-3 days, when the sun flare would pass them.

[@gracemember101]

From the perspective of a Creationist who accepts the Genesis 1 account of the creation of the universe, I find your comment on water used as shielding to be fascinating. It helps explain perhaps why God placed a water layer (vapor?) above the lower atmosphere separated from the water below the atmosphere (oceans). This would help us understand why the human lifespan was measured in 100's of years before the Flood and then decreasing sharply afterwards due to higher radiation levels.

[@theOrionsarms]

Magnetic shielding with permanent magnet can work too, I'm not suggesting putting thausen of tiny magnets around the ship, but making outer shell from iron and attach a single strong neodymium magnet that weight few kg to it.

[@MiddleIrvington]

I concur that storing fuel and water on the outside of the spacecraft can serve to protect as well as serve multiple needs of onboard astronauts.

[@keithrosenberg5486]

Spacecraft orientation is also used to prevent radiation hitting the crew from the nearby star we orbit.

[@brettvv7475]

Fun fact: It's actually the shirts making these videos. They just spawn a brand new Paul for each episode.

[@rorypenstock1763]

Bremsstrahlung = braking radiation. Cool!

[@KaiIngebrigtsen]

Simple, super energized plasma... like when the space vehicle reenters the atmosphere! Sandwich it between ceramic hulls and energize it, blocks out almost everything!

[@tibor2077]

A cost effective approach might be of instead creating a general protection, investigate how to minimise the effective dosage on astronauts: Distinguish particles based on their cross section and average dosage output and apply protection considering these. Separate particles based on their mass, speed, charge: For example high energy neutral particles mostly pass through everything and might not be necessary to shield from them, charged particles might cause an ionization with a higher likelihood, but they can be controlled with a magnetic/electric field. There might be some directionality in the distribution of charged particles: Have directional shielding Consider having the astronauts personal protection: A radiation protective suit, or for example the areas where the astronauts spend a long time have some more protection, for example their sleeping pod could be shielded by the water/sewage storage barrels. Improving the astronauts natural regenerative and protective abilities: This is having a wide range of available academically researched and non researched litererature, a topic with a lot of controversy.

[@anthonyalva9460]

Very informative. Excellent work.

[@RCAvhstape]

You can use not just water as shielding, but also rocket propellants such as hydrogen, oxygen, or kerosene. So one approach is to build the propellant tanks around parts of the crew quarters. As the mission goes on and you do maneuvers, you will reduce shielding of course, but the idea is to supplement the usual solid material shielding and so forth such that by the time the shielding gets low you have already reached your destination, be it a properly shielded Mars habitat or back to Earth.

[@simian_essence]

It would be interesting to do a follow-on video concentrating on solar flares and what to do about them on a trip to Mars. Special compartments that everyone could crowd into for a day or two??

[@MasterMayhem78]

I think to make the biggest leaps in space exploration, we need to go bigger. Yes it may take many, many more delivery flights, but over time this will be a huge benefit to our ability to explore our solar system. It's time to start construction of a true transport and exploration ship. Not just some tubes linked together but a real spaceship. Go big or go home.

[@kerianhalcyon2769]

Feel like the easiest solution to any of these problems is to rethink how to approach solving them, rather than stopping at an obstacle and jumping to the next best thing. Water, for example, is among the cheapest and best forms of shielding, as the video states, but it's heavy, so how do we send it up? By sending it in pieces. Instead of sending up shipments of water into orbit and wasting fuel, you send the incredibly lightweight gas components of water instead, and then synthesize the water on a facility in low earth orbit.

[@giyanvice]

Avenue 5 uses human excrement like "poop" to shield the spacecraft. I find that fascinating.

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

You find poop fascinating?

[@williamforbes6919]

@@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681What, is none of this shit interesting to you? I'll see myself out.

[@keithphilbin3054]

Food for the next mission ? 6,000 lamb vindaloos 😬

[@oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo]

That shirt is high energy

[@bondisteve3617]

Another good one...thanks Paul.

[@shemp308]

I absolutely love your science history and narration! but on many occasions I have thought about your shirts. this one I am sure came from the same bolt of fabric as the shower curtain my mother had in the 1960's. Still alway good to see you video's and keep up the great work.

[@rodanderson8490]

Your comment about water being the best radiation shield makes me wonder why habitats on the Moon and Mars are not planned to be made like igloos. BOTH locations are VERY COLD and colonies can be built near abundant water sources. Inflate a large bladder, spray it with water until you have the ice thickness desired, cover the ice with surface material to prevent radiant heating from the sun -- then deflate the bladder, move it elsewhere and repeat. What could be simpler? You can practice during the winter in Norway.

[@roberthicks1612]

A possible solution to travel to mars would be to build the ship near the moon, launching water and soil from the moon. To over come the problems of weight, they could have a temporary crew fly the spaceship, using a combination of solar sails and gravity sling as it goes back and forth between the moon and earth. On the last pass near the earth, the actual mars crew would launch from the earth (where the earth would protect them) and replace the temporary crew who would return to the earth. This way they would not need to use fuel until the last pass to escape the earths gravity.

[@jasonplant5432]

You are such a well developed educator! thank you . Really, thank you.

[@GuardsmanBass]

If your interplanetary or cislunar spaceship uses either hydrogen or a hydrogen-rich fuel (like methane), you'd probably use your fuel tanks for extra shielding. Place as much of the crew area between them, so that you have to have as little area as possible exposed (and thus requiring its own specific radiation shielding). You might even be able to almost completely surround the crew area with the tanks plus whatever tanks are being used for water storage.

[@nicholaschoo2369]

May i know where can you get the information of the usage of tetrafluoroethylene in the ionization chamber walls of apollo1?