Moon Mission Data Reveal Unexpected Cosmic Ray “Shadow”

Moon Mission Data Reveal Unexpected Cosmic Ray “Shadow”

The solar system is bathed in galactic cosmic rays: protons and atomic nuclei traveling, nearly at the speed of light, from all directions. Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere shield us from most of this harmful radiation, but outside of that shelter, the bombardment is strong enough to prove a threat to astronauts. But a new analysis of data from the Chang’e-4 lunar lander published in Science Advances revealed an extended cosmic ray shelter …