MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Natalya Cherkashina, recent winner of a presidential award for her work as an engineer, has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that she and her colleagues will do everything they can to win the space race to the Red Planet.
During Putin’s meeting with laureates of the presidential prize, the president asked Cherkashina whether a human flight to Mars is currently possible. "Not yet," she replied. "But it is possible [in theory], and we will do our best to make sure Russia gets there first."
Cherkashina said that her research was aimed at developing radiation shielding composites to protect cosmonauts and electronic equipment during long orbital flights.
"First of all, the use of our materials will pave the way for longer spaceflights, which is particularly important for the lunar program, and, secondly, it will allow for the use of ordinary electronic chips, which are way cheaper than their counterparts designed specifically for space use," the researcher said.
Presidential Aide Andrey Fursenko said the efficacy of Cherkashina’s research was proven by Russian cosmonauts, who "confirmed that this material significantly broadens our ability to shield cosmonauts [from harmful cosmic rays]."
Natalya Cherkashina, DSc (Engineering Science), is a leading researcher at V. Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University.