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'I am horrified': Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to edge of space (www.livescience.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/archaeology@mander.xyz
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Fragmentary remains of two ancient human relatives, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, were carried aboard a Virgin Galactic flight on Sept. 8. Departing from Spaceport America in New Mexico, the fossils, carried by South African-born billionaire Timothy Nash in a cigar-shaped tube, were rocketed to the edge of space.

"I am horrified that they were granted a permit," Sonia Zakrzewski, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton in the U.K., wrote in an X thread, noting she would use it as an example in her class about unethical approaches. "This is NOT science."

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[โ€“] 5 points 3 years ago (1 child)

https://www.canadametal.com/what-are-the-various-materials-that-shield-from-radiation/

You mean lead box technology. You can't use just any random metal unless you want poor results.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 3 years ago*

    You'll rarley find lead shielding on spacecrafts. Most of the radiation in space are high energy protons and these tend to knock neutons off lead atoms, creating secondardy neutron radiation.

    It's more common to use high density polyethylene or stainless steel for radiation shielding in space.

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