Posted by tourdemars to Humans To Mars at October 24, 2006 11:54 PM

Burrowing inside an asteroid whose orbit carries it past both the Earth and Mars could protect astronauts from radiation on their way to the Red Planet. The idea is being investigated with funding from NASA. Outside the protective bubble of the Earth's magnetic field, charged particles from the Sun and from beyond our solar system in the form of cosmic rays pose a hazard to astronauts.