Radiation protection

 

When a spacecraft goes beyond Earth's magnetic field, it faces more radiation from charged particles and solar storms. This radiation can mess up important stuff like computers and equipment. For people on board, too much radiation can cause problems from feeling sick right away to maybe getting cancer later on.

Orion was made with special features to make sure its important parts can still work during these radiation events. It has four computers that check themselves, plus a completely different backup computer, so it can still follow commands even if something goes wrong. Engineers tested everything really well to make sure all the important systems can still work even in really tough situations.

Orion also has a kind of emergency shelter below where the crew hangs out. If there's a big solar radiation event, NASA has plans for the crew to make a temporary shelter inside using stuff they have on board.