spaceship - In The Martian, how were the crew in the Hermes shielded from radiation?

I have not read the book of The Martian, but there was one glaring omission in the movie that struck me.

How were the crew in the Hermes protected from radiation?

In space, especially interplanetary space, radiation is a big problem. Look at this from Wired:

A new study highlights one of the big problems with extended space travel: galactic cosmic ray radiation. According to the report, astronauts on the International Space Station would receive doses that exceed their lifetime limits after just 18 months for women and two years for men. A Mars mission crew would be spending at least this long in the harsh radiation of deep space.

The Hermes looks very pretty, but it is all windows and gyms. Not much that would protect from a radiation storm. Even when the crew are discussing doing another round trip, the fact that they are massively increasing their own cancer risk is not mentioned.

Is this covered in the book at all?

Answer

It was handwaved.

“In the book they have this really thin, light, flexible material that blocks all radiation,” says Andy Weir, author of the book The Martian on which the film was based. “There’s nothing even remotely like that in the real world. That was the magic I gave him so the story would progress. Otherwise Mark would have different kinds of cancer.”

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