Section C
Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星)
but also because of rays from the sun and other stars. The (26)
again acts as our protective blanket on earth. Light gets through,
and this is (27) for plants to make the food which we eat.
Heat, too, makes our environment (28) Various kinds of rays
come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from
the sun are (29) off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere
they are exposed to this (30) and their spacesuits or the
walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do (31) a lot
of radiation damage. Radiation is the greatest known danger to
(32) in space. The unit of radiation is called "rem".
Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more radiation
than 0.1 rein without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed
on. The trouble is that it is (33) difficult to be sure
about radiation damage— (34) , and this will not be
discovered until the birth of deformed children or even grandchildren. Missions
of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high amounts of reins.
(35) , we simply do not know yet how men are going to get
on, when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere,
working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by
radiation, (36)