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Radiation load on cosmonauts to stay within permissible levels during flight to Moon

The radiation load on crewmembers during lunar missions depends on a whole number of factors

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. The radiation load on cosmonauts during their short-term flight to the Moon won’t exceed permissible levels, Director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems within the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences Oleg Orlov said on Saturday.

"By and large, if we speak about brief flights to the Moon lasting no more than a month, then the load on an astronaut or a cosmonaut fits into the standards that exist for the ISS [the International Space Station]," the scientist said.

The radiation load on crewmembers during lunar missions depends on a whole number of factors: the trajectory of the passage of the Earth’s radiation belts and solar flares. The latter increase the radiation dose by tens and even hundreds of times, the scientist noted.

That is why, special attention should be paid to the reliable radiation protection of lunar bases, including the options of making shelters deeply embedded in the soil and using lunar soil. The scientists are also developing the cosmonauts’ individual and pharmaceutical protection kits against radiation, Orlov said.