- #1
Sam Phillips
- 14
- 8
I have seen many articles lately regarding planned manned missions to the moon and Mars but the question of radiation protection constantly comes up. Engineers keep proposing various shelter designs that use local materials (regolith) as a concrete base to absorb harmful radiation so that the astronauts are not fried.
The problem I see is that every design also includes windows to allow some light in. I know windows can be created with heavy metal impurities to help absorb some radiation but: it is not as effective as a solid wall would be, a window with impurities is not as strong as one without impurities, and the addition of impurities also blocks some visible light that might reduce crop yields in a greenhouse.
My question is that if the habitat was built so that no window faced the sun during any point of the day or year (moon or mars), could silver mirrors (or other types) be used to reflect only the visible (safe) light but allow gamma and xrays to pass through the mirror so that they are not reflected into the habitat?
I know this wouldn't do anything for the Alpha, Beta, and Neutron particles that might be traveling in an angle to pass through the windows, but my question is only about the gamma and xray radiation.
The problem I see is that every design also includes windows to allow some light in. I know windows can be created with heavy metal impurities to help absorb some radiation but: it is not as effective as a solid wall would be, a window with impurities is not as strong as one without impurities, and the addition of impurities also blocks some visible light that might reduce crop yields in a greenhouse.
My question is that if the habitat was built so that no window faced the sun during any point of the day or year (moon or mars), could silver mirrors (or other types) be used to reflect only the visible (safe) light but allow gamma and xrays to pass through the mirror so that they are not reflected into the habitat?
I know this wouldn't do anything for the Alpha, Beta, and Neutron particles that might be traveling in an angle to pass through the windows, but my question is only about the gamma and xray radiation.