[Gustomaximus]

> he seems to have very little concern for radiation shielding both during the trip to Mars or on the Martian surface.

I find it hard to believe his team have not considered something so obvious. This seems like one of those statements that assumed the experts are a bit stupid. Just because he hasn't specifically mentioned it doesn't mean it is not considered. And sure somethings are probably not considered, but something as obvious as this...

[thelambentonion]

> "The radiation thing is often brought up, but I think it’s not too big of a deal"

AFAIK no one else within the community would think of saying that.

I'm sure that there are people within SpaceX studying this and taking it into consideration, but my concern is mostly with Musk's cavalier attitude towards individual safety.

[1457389]

I don't think you have looked very hard then. Here's Zubrin on the topic:

>However, we already have data that shows that the accumulation of slow rates of cosmic ray radiation received during long duration spaceflight is not a showstopper for human Mars exploration. GCR dose rates in low Earth orbit are about half those in interplanetary space. Thus, there is a growing number of cosmonauts and astronauts who have already received Mars mission equivalent GCR doses during extended space missions without any radiological casualties.

~http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2749/1

He mentions in a recent speech that the most deleterious effect of time spent in space is related to zero gravity, not radiation - and that can be fixed with resistance training.

[wott]

You talk about a Mars exploration mission, hence a relatively short time duration, not about settling and living one's whole life on Mars.

[nickik]

How about one problem at the time. If we can actually go there with lots of stuff, stay for a long period and come back we will already have made more progress then most people thought possible.

We know most of the physics needed to deal with the situation, if we can get equipment to mars. Radiation is a problem, but its not Problem Nr. 1.

[greglindahl]

Let me get this straight:

1) You imagine what's going on in Elon's head 2) You complain about it on HN 3) You expect other people to care about your fantasy 4) ... 5) ???

There are multiple hard-to-solve problems involved in sending humans to Mars. Complaining that Elon didn't give sufficient weight to your favorite problem in his executive summary is not that interesting.

[elihu]

That's a good point, but it is relevant that Elon Musk isn't just a "scientist" or "expert" but a businessman positioning himself to sell a product.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one and wait for more details, but at the same time I concede that it's not unreasonable to be wary of claims that the radiation problem "isn't a big deal" from someone planning to sell tickets to Mars. Not everyone has the same notion of what an acceptable risk is.