The space radiation environment is one of the main limitations of human and robotic exploration of space beyond low Earth orbit. This book presents, in a technical reference and engineering handbook format, the underlying principles, architectures, and integration challenges associated with protecting spacecraft and astronauts from the complex radiation environment of deep space. It is intended to serve as a practical guide for researchers, engineers, and mission planners seeking to understand how and why various shielding approaches function, such as active magnetic fields, passive materials, and bioengineered countermeasures; how they may fail, and how they can be integrated into coherent, mission-tailored protection systems.

Rather than focusing narrowly on any single technology, the text synthesizes multiple disciplines: electromagnetics, materials science, and plasma physics, each examined through the lens of systems engineering. It explores the governing physics of galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events, the performance limits of superconducting and resistive magnetic field generators, the trade-offs inherent in hydrogen-rich and boron-infused composites, the generation and mitigation of secondary radiation. A central emphasis is placed on model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methodologies, which provide the connective tissue for integrating these diverse technologies into mission-ready architectures.

Although grounded in rigorous modeling and simulation, the book is not intended as an academic treatise full of derivations and proofs. Instead, it strives to bridge theory and application, offering a clear framework for practitioners to diagnose, model, and mitigate radiation risks in spacecraft design. References are provided throughout to enable readers to pursue specialized areas of interest.

Beyond its coverage of shielding solutions, this book provides a framework for thinking in an integrated systems approach rooted in physics, guided by engineering pragmatism, and oriented toward the long-term sustainability of human presence beyond Earth's magnetosphere.

Written by two experts in the field, Active and Passive Protection from Space Radiation: A systems engineering approach offers an opportunity to learn from authors with broad cross-disciplinary experience and hands-on knowledge of space programs. Professionals, researchers and graduate students working in space systems engineering and mission architecture, aerospace radiation environments and shielding design, model-based systems engineering and digital mission modelling, will find this book worth reading.