1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Lauren vogebom Here. When NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong took his 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: one small step out of the Apollo Lunar module, he 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: looked out at the Moon's surface through overlapping shields. He 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: was wearing a transparent bubble shaped helmet fitted with visors 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: that could be raised or lowered at will. The innermost 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: advisor and the bubble itself were made of polycarbonate shielding, 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: a material that helped protect Armstrong from getting an overdose 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:41,639 Speaker 1: of ultraviolet light in the electromagnetic spectrum. Ultraviolet light has 10 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: wavelengths that are a little bit shorter than visible light, 11 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: but a little bit longer than X rays. We can't 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: see UV light with our eyes, but some birds, reptiles, 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: and insects like bees can. The Sun and other stars 14 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: give off UV light. One of the ways we categorize 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: types of this light is into three bands based on 16 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: how much shorter they are than visible light waves. UVA 17 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: waves are the longest, UVB waves are shorter, and UVC 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: rays are the shortest. UVA waves are what's produced in 19 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: black lights, and it's used in tanning beds and to 20 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: detect all kinds of things arranging from refrigerant leaks to scorpions. 21 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: When we're exposed to them, UVA waves can cause skin 22 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: tanning and skin aging, and can cause eye damage. Meanwhile, 23 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: contact with UVB waves prompts our skin to manufacture vitamin 24 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: D three, but too much of it can give you 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: a sunburn, and over time it can irreparably damage the 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: DNA in your skin, leading to skin cancer. It also 27 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: causes eye damage. UVC waves are the most dangerous because 28 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: they're a type of ionizing radiation, meaning that they have 29 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: enough energy to knock electrons right out of atoms, which 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: can change the form and function of whatever those atoms 31 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: are a part of, from spacecraft instruments to living flesh. 32 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: UVC waves can be used to sterilize surfaces of germs, 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: and they'll definitely damage humanized in skin. I should clarify 34 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: here because I just use the word radiation that all 35 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: light and other waves in the electromagnetic spectrum are types 36 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: of radiation, but ionizing radiation is the really dangerous category, 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: you know, your Chernobyl or Godzilla category due to the 38 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: effects that I just mentioned. Anyway, it's lucky for us 39 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: that Earth's ozone layer absorbs nearly all of the UVC 40 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: waves that the Sun gives off and about ninety five 41 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: percent of the UVB waves as well. Sunscreen, sunglasses, and 42 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: appropriate clothing offer us Earth dwelling folks a good measure 43 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: of defense against the UV waves that do pass through 44 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: the ozone barrier, But once an astronaut leaves low Earth 45 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: orbit and thus leaves the ozone layer behind, they need 46 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: a bit more protection. The Moon doesn't have much of 47 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: an atmosphere, so its surface is a wash in ultraviolet radiation. 48 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: There's evidence to suggest that UV waves may be partially 49 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: responsible for the levitating clouds of lunar dust that we've observed. 50 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: There are also six American flags on the surface of 51 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,799 Speaker 1: the Moon, and astronomers think the decades of UV bombardment 52 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: have probably bleached them white by now. And on the 53 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: Apollo twelve mission, a TV camera was ruined when an 54 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: astronaut accidentally aimed at the Sun with so much unfiltered 55 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: UV radiation afoot that you might think that astronauts whose 56 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: spacewalk on the Moon or otherwise would come home with 57 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: terrible sunburns, But spacesuits, including those donned by the Apollo 58 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: Explorers are made with heavy fabrics that block out UV rays. 59 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: A member of the Gemini nine crew did get a 60 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: triangular sunburn on his back in nineteen sixty three, though 61 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: astronaut Jen Sernin had been working on the exterior of 62 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: his spacecraft when the outer seams on his suit ripped, 63 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: exposing him to solar radiation. But what about those partially 64 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: transparent helmets. For these and for some of the attached visors, 65 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: designers use ultraviolet stabilized polycarbonate, which is a tough plastic 66 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: that protects astronauts faces from UV radiation. Without it, it 67 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 1: would leave the space travelers vulnerable to snowblindness and other 68 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: conditions that arise when UV waves damage parts of the 69 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: human eye. The risk of UV radiation goes way down 70 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: when astronauts are inside a spaceship. Aboard the International Space Station, 71 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: for example, astronauts regularly do their work in nothing but 72 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: ordinary cotton shirts and pants to protect them from sunburns. 73 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: The ISS uses UV blocking windows, as do most space 74 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: exploration vehicles, but UV radiation is in the only kind 75 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: of radiation that astronauts have to contend with on Earth 76 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: are planet's magnetic fields or magnetosphere protect us from other 77 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: ionizing radiation, like what's emitted from the Sun during solar flares, 78 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: or the cosmic rays that come from outside our solar system. 79 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: These can cause all kinds of problems in the human body. 80 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: A large dose and a short term, as with exposure to, 81 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: say a nuclear weapon, can cause symptoms from vomiting and 82 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: bleeding to immune system failure to death. Smaller doses over 83 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: a long term can cause cataracts, increased risk of cancers, 84 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: and permanent damage to our cardiovascular and central nervous systems. 85 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: And unfortunately, these types of space radiation are also more 86 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: difficult to control. As of now, we don't have good 87 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: ways to block them or mitigate their effects, even in 88 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: a spacesuit or on a space station. So right now 89 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: our best solution is to just not let astronauts stay 90 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: in space for too long. This is one of the 91 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: many problems that scientists will have to solve before we 92 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: can send people into space for longer missions, such as 93 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: a crude mission to Mars or for long work on 94 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: the Moon, and scientists are working on it. We just 95 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: have to stick closer to home for now. Today's episode 96 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: is based on the article do Astronauts meets on screen 97 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: and space on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Mark Mancini. 98 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how 99 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four 100 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 101 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.