Study: AstroRad Radiation Vest Tested on Artemis I Could Cut Deep-Space Astronaut Exposure Up to 60%

A peer-reviewed study published in Science Advances, led by Jordan Houri of StemRad with U.S., German, and Israeli collaborators (NASA, German Aerospace Center, Israel Space Agency), found the AstroRad radiation-shielding vest — flown unoccupied on two Artemis I mannequins, Helga and Zohar, in 2022 — could reduce an astronaut's radiation dose by about 60% during a solar storm comparable to the 1972 event and nearly 40% during a 1989-scale event, equivalent to avoiding 193 and 131 days of unnecessary deep-space radiation exposure respectively. The 26 kg (57 lb) vest, developed by StemRad and Lockheed Martin using nuclear-disaster-response shielding technology, protects the lungs, stomach, bone marrow, breasts, and ovaries. It was not carried aboard the crewed Artemis II flight due to mass and space constraints on the short flyby, but researchers say the results support including it on longer lunar and Mars-bound crews. Houri called the Artemis I data "the largest experiment ever conducted to determine astronaut radiation exposure beyond low-Earth orbit."