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Loading contentBeyond the shelter of Earth's magnetic field, crews are exposed to a steady sleet of galactic cosmic rays and the sudden violence of solar particle events. This radiation raises long-term cancer risk and can damage the nervous system, and shielding against the most energetic particles is one of the hardest unsolved problems of sending humans to Mars.
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.