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Humans have proven themselves remarkably adept at learning to do what other animals can do naturally. We have taught ourselves to fly like birds, climb like monkeys and burrow like moles. But the one animal that has always proven beyond our reach is the fish.

The invention of scuba diving has allowed us to breathe underwater but only at very shallow depths.

Thanks to our inability to conquer the bends, diving below 70m still remains astonishingly dangerous to anyone but a handful of experts. Ultra-deep diving is so lethal that more people have walked on the moon than descended below 240m using scuba gear.

NASA has vowed to “use all means necessary” to ensure the success of the mission, and that could include technology developed by StemRad, a Tel Aviv-based company behind the AstroRad radiation protection vest.

Developed in partnership with aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin, the AstroRad vest is personal protective equipment for astronauts to wear beyond Low Earth Orbit, mitigating space radiation exposure outside the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Boasting the Israeli flag, the AstroRad uses a proprietary smart shielding design to selectively protect organs and tissues which are most sensitive to radiation exposure. The company has developed an adapted suit for women, who are particularly vulnerable to space radiation.