High Hydrogen Thoraeus Rubber Gossamer Radiation Shielding for Human Protection

NanoSonic has recently developed ultra-lightweight, durable, high hydrogen containing Thoraeus Rubber™ nanocomposites that may serve as radiation protection for space transportation vehicles as well as astronauts against DNA damaging high-energy particles and ionizing radiation. Thoraeus Rubber maximizes shielding with minimum bulk by grading alternating high and low atomic number (Z) nanoparticles within an energy dissipating hydrogenous neutron shielding polymer network to slow high-energy neutron elastic collisions and absorb resultant gamma rays, X-rays and high-energy particles. For comparable mass and areal densities, Thoraeus Rubber attenuates twice the level of gamma radiation under a 137Cs source relative to the COTS product and Ta at one-fourth the mass density, and with zero secondary ionization. The TRL of Thoraeus Rubber shall be increased from 3 - 5 via measurements at Brookhaven Radiation Effects Facility through our radiation expert and Certified Health Physicist partner at Colorado State University (CSU). TRL 7 shall be reached during Phase II upon space habitat construction and flight-testing with our space prime partners. TRL 9 shall be attained upon demonstration of Thoraeus Rubber on space vehicles traveling with humans through low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous orbit, Moon, Mars, and the Asteroids that enable NASA's Human Exploration goals.