A type of fungus that uses nuclear radiation as energy could serve as a possible form of protection, shielding astronauts from potential harm.

Outside of the protective magnetosphere and atmosphere of Earth, astronauts are showered with a twenty-fold higher amount of ionizing radiation—levels that would prove unsustainable without protection. But a discovery at the nuclear accident site of Chernobyl in Ukraine, has offered a possible solution.

A team of scientists from Stanford and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, discovered a type of fungus growing inside the destroyed reactors of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and thought if there are forms of life that can survive advanced radiation exposure long-term, they might be able to help protect astronauts on extraterrestrial voyages.

Tags: fungus, Chernobyl, Rockets, magnetosphere, radiation, nuclear, ionizing, Ukraine, Astronauts, Stanford, scientists