I don’t know. science, I guess?
Comment on Mama!
peetabix@sh.itjust.works 1 day agoIf those deadly rays are getting reflected back into space, how do astronauts protect themselves against it? Is the ISS beneath the magnetosphere?
stiffyGlitch@lemmy.world 1 day ago
ContriteErudite@lemmy.world 1 day ago
On the side of the Earth facing the sun, the magnetosphere extends about 40,000km into space. The solar wind stretches the magnetosphere into a tail that extends well beyond the Moon’s orbit. The ISS orbits at an altitude of about 400km; it is well within the magnetosphere.
Because it is above the majority of the atmosphere (and also because it just barely passes through the lowest part of the Van Allen radiation belts), astronauts in the ISS are exposed to higher levels of radiation. However, the ISS has shielding specifically designed to minimize radiation, and astronauts living there are considered to be within safe levels of exposure.