SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

On Monday, NASA officially opened an application window [usajobs.gov] for the next generation of American astronauts [cnet.com] it hopes to send to the International Space Station, lunar orbit and eventually to Mars. But to find the best candidates for dealing with the harsh levels of radiation in space and on the Red Planet, the agency may want to consider looking beyond the borders of the United States for applicants.
...
there may be no need to engage in controversial "editing" of human genetics to create radiation-resistant astronauts because there might already be good prospects in a few corners of the world.

Besides Ramsar, the beaches near Guarapari [wikipedia.org], Brazil, also exhibit very high levels of natural radiation. People in Yangjiang, China [wikipedia.org], live with radiation levels three times the world average but have below-average cancer levels, and the story is the same in Karunagappally, India [nih.gov].

Unfortunately, none of the people from these areas would be eligible for the program NASA is now hiring for -- the agency is only looking for American applicants. So who in the United States might be best suited for withstanding the most cosmic radiation?

Paging residents of Hanford, WA... [wikipedia.org]

Original Submission