Boron Nitride Nanotubes for Space Radiation Shielding

Abstract

Soon after Armstrong`s left foot touched the surface of the moon in July 21, 1969, Mars seemed to be the next target for any future human space explorations [1, 2]. Although during these forty five years, advances in different fields of science like materials, electronics and space resulted in regular presence of satellites, space explorers and even human in space stations but any long travel including mission to the Mars has been limited by space radiation due to its effect on materials, electronics and astronauts. Space radiation can cause degradation in structural materials, introduce noise in electronic system and impose threat to astronauts` health due to biological changes, which could result in diverse diseases like cancer. In order to overcome these challenges, space radiation must be controlled and maintained under the acceptable limits and this can be achieved by using different shielding materials. Although shielding materials used in space structures designs till date are effective in controlling the radiation for short travels, their use for long duration mission may not be adequate, either due to drastically increase in weight or ineffectiveness of the material for long term travel. Therefore, scientific community and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have focused on finding new innovative radiation shielding materials for the future space explorations. This editorial presents an overview of one of such promising materials viz. Boron Nitride Nanotubes as a future space radiation shielding material.