Israeli-Made Radiation Protective Kits Going to Ukraine

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — An Israeli-made radiation protection kit currently being tested on the NASA Artemis 1 mission is being delivered to Ukraine for first responders in Kyiv, The Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

Oren Milstein, co-founder of the manufacturer StemRad, and Scott Kelly, a former NASA astronaut, traveled to Ukraine at the end of November to personally deliver the first batch of 20 kits as a donation. After that, the wearable gear will be made available at cost.

Milstein explained that the initiative came about amid news of the shelling of a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons.

The unmanned Artemis I space mission carries two mannikins wearing StemRad’s AstroRad, an anti-radiation suit co-developed with Lockheed Martin to protect vital organs from gamma radiation.

“The Artemis launch was the most exhilarating moment, for me, and for my family. And then so shortly after, to be on this train going from Poland to the darkness of Ukraine, arriving in Kyiv and providing this pivotal protection, while our space-based technology is still circling the moon, to be able do this here on Earth corresponds with our mission to provide radiation protection on Earth and beyond,” Milstein told ToI. “The timing was amazing.”

“After a 20-hour night train ride from Warsaw we made it into Kyiv and there we were embraced at the highest levels. President Zelensky [who was given one as a gift] was extremely thankful and said that he just got back from Chernobyl the other day, and he would have used it there had he had it and that for any kind of radiological incident in the future, he would be sure to use this life-saving equipment,” according to Milstein.

StemRad’s technology selectively protects organs with high sensitivity to radiation, such as bone marrow in the hip or in the vertebrae, and the gastrointestinal system.

The gear shields against deadly gamma rays in those parts of the body, while allowing freedom of movement for the wearer.