AN artificial human cell that records the number and energy of interplanetary cosmic rays will be a passenger on board Russia's Mars 96 space probe, due to be launched next month. The information will help scientists to assess the dangers from radiation facing any future astronauts bound for the Red Planet.
At the heart of the device is a low-pressure gas that simulates the nucleus of a human cell. The cell was built by researchers at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Washington State and Texas A&M University.
The device will measure how much energy the "nucleus" absorbs from an incoming cosmic ray and then estimate how much damage the radiation would cause in a real cell.
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