Curiosity rover finds radiation levels on Mars are safe for humans

It's been three months since NASA's Curiosity rover set foot wheels down on Martian terrain, and now the space agency has divulged what it's learned about radiation on Mars. Marking the first time radiation has been measured from the surface of another planet, preliminary data collected using the rover's Radiation Assessment Detector (or RAD for short) revealed that levels on the ground are similar to what astronauts encounter on the International Space Station. What's that mean for space travel? "The astronauts can live in this environment," Don Hassler, principal investigator on Curiosity's RAD hardware, said in a press conference. However, humans would still experience higher levels of radiation on the way to and from the red planet than on its surface. The results are encouraging, but they're just one of many developments left before Homo sapiens set foot on Mars. For more details on the RAD's findings, look below for the press release.

Continue reading Curiosity rover finds radiation levels on Mars are safe for humans

Filed under: Science, Alt

Curiosity rover finds radiation levels on Mars are safe for humans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.