BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — A team of high school students from Virginia is helping NASA find a way to protect astronauts from radiation.
Figuring out a way to protect astronauts from cosmic radiation is one of the primary challenges NASA has when it comes to sending humans into deep space.
In April, a group of five students from the Governor’s School for Science and Technology in Hampton won a global competition to design a shield that will fly into space aboard the Orion spacecraft on its maiden voyage later this year.
During its flight, Orion will travel through the Allen Belt, a dense radiation field that surrounds the Earth.
Their cube-like structure will carry radiation detection devices to see if their shield design works as they designed it.
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