Clare O'Beara
Clare O'Beara asked Andy Weir:

I loved the series of problems faced by the unwilling Martian colonist. I particularly enjoyed his plant-growing skills. However, I was wondering why the issue of solar radiation was not raised?

Andy Weir I know it's nit-picky, but the issue actually was addressed. There's a brief part where Mark mentions that the Hab has radiation shielding. If it didn't "...I'd have so much cancer my cancer would have cancer."

One can assume the rovers, EVA suits, MAV, MDV, and Hermes all also had this material.

However, I admit I hand-waved it. Basically there's a lightweight, thin radiation shielding material. Such a material doesn't exist in real life, nor does anything remotely like it. It's one of the few places in the book where I just straight-up violated physics.
Andy Weir
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