NASA's Most Dangerous Mission Ever, set for tomorrow 5/11/09- being stranded in space possible

Originally posted by weedwhacker
We, on Earth, are protected from the Gamma and certain other higher-energy EM spectrum by our magnetoshere! A vessel in LEO is still within the magnetosphere...

I'm glad you pointed this out Weedwhacker because in my opinion the debate here would benefit by focusing more on this issue. It at least brings up a few questions I have about the dangers of Solar radiation and how magnetic fields react to this radiation.

I couldn't find a source verifying that the eddy of Earth's magnetic field is large enough to shield the Moon as it passes through it. The only thing I found pertaining to the overall size and length of our magnetosphere is that it's currently unknown.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
Mars lacks an active heavy-metal core (which is what creates Earth's magnetic field, and the protective lines of magnetism that surround us).
...on both Mars and the Moon, a base located nearer one of the poles provides far less radiation exposure...

I find comments like these to be somewhat ambiguous. Are we sure Mars lacks an active heavy-metal core and how about our Moon, Mercury and Venus? What does "an active heavy-metal core" actually mean (liquid, solid, rotating)? Is it the activity of a planet's heavy-metal core that create a magnetic field which in turn reacts with the Solar wind or could it be the Solar wind reacting to a planetary body that creates a magnetic field by activating its core?