Nick Song PopSci Spec Script Can you suntan on the moon? The answer is found – strictly in scientific terms – in the stars and within yourself. Radiation is energy that travels in a straight line. It usually comes in one of two physical forms: Particle radiation are super fast-moving subatomic particles; their high velocity strips away the electrons and leaves just the nucleus. Electromagnetic radiation are waves of energy differentiated by their length across a spectrum. Radio waves, X-rays, and visible light are all examples. Ultraviolet (UV) rays also fall on this electromagnetic spectrum. These rays make up a lot of what we consider to be sunlight – electromagnetic energy emitted by the sun. UV rays are split into three subtypes by wavelength: UVA (longest), UVB (medium), UVC (shortest). Let’s talk tanning. Specialized cells in the skin called melanin cause skin pigmentation. Dark in color, melanin absorbs and disperses UV radiation. Melanocyte cells produce melanin when exposed to UVA rays. A mixture of Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere prevents most of this space radiation from reaching the surface. Earth’s atmospheric ozone layer absorbs the UVC and most UVB harmful rays. So what about the Moon? The entire surface receives around the same amount of sunlight. because it rotates on an axis while orbiting the Earth. A tiny amount of atmosphere also surrounds the Moon. “It’s not very good from a shielding perspective,” said Dr. Peter Guida who works as a biologist at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, “but it might be good from a tanning perspective.” Any and all melanin-triggering UVA rays reach the Moon’s surface unabated – meaning tanning on the moon is technically possible. Practically speaking… The trouble begins when taking off one’s spacesuit – aka, the device most critical to human survival in space. Finding oxygen to breathe is far and away the most pressing issue, but the surface temperatures are important. Even if you’re able to breathe in a vacuum, taking off the suit means catching hypothermia or extreme sunstroke as the lunar surface can range from 200 degrees F to -300 degrees F. The lack of shielding from the atmosphere allows for the full spectrum of UV rays to pass through to the moon’s surface. “It’s all relative,” said Dr. Xianglei Huang, the Associate Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at UMich. “Even if your sunblock blocks out 99% of the UV rays on the Moon, that 1% is equivalent to 100000 times UV radiation felt on Earth.” Additionally the lack of atmospheric shielding means needing to worry about X-rays, gamma rays, and other electromagnetic radiation impervious to our skin’s melanin. Particle radiation poses a threat, with high-velocity nuclei flying through space like arrows. Upon collision, the
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