Mastodawn

#HumanSpaceflightHealth #RadiationProtection

Spaceflight 🚀

#LunarGateway : no #radiation shelter planned.

#ESA : Radiation poses a major #health #risk to people in #space. Astronauts on the #ISS receive doses roughly 120 times higher than on Earth. Away from Earth’s protective magnetic field, #astronauts 👨‍🚀 receive roughly 250 times 📈 more radiation than a person on #Earth 🌍" https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/internal-radiation-payload-approved-for-the-gateway

#NASA : "During a future #Artemis mission, if a solar ☀️ radiation squall were to occur while #astronauts are beyond #Earth’s magnetic bubble, they might tell the crew to #build a temporary shelter 📦" https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/how-nasa-protects-astronauts-from-space-radiation-at-moon-mars-solar-cosmic-rays

Picture : https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/03/Gateway_blueprint

Internal radiation payload approved for the Gateway – ESA – Exploration

Spaceflight 🚀May 1, 2023

#Nature 📆 August 2022 #SpaceRadiation and exposure risk reduction. Shielding performances of potential materials #aluminum (Al), #polyethylene (PE), and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (#CFRP). The effective dose equivalent was reduced by 50% 〽️ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17079-1

#HumanSpaceflightHealth

Considerations for practical dose equivalent assessment of space radiation and exposure risk reduction in deep space - Scientific Reports

Shielding from space radiation, especially galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), is a significant safety challenge for future human activities in deep space. In this study, the shielding performances of potential materials [aluminum (Al), polyethylene (PE), and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP)] were investigated using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation considering two types of biological scale parameters, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) quality factor (QFICRP) and the plausible biological effectiveness (RBEγacute), for GCRs. The effective dose equivalent was reduced by 50% for QFICRP and 38% for RBEγacute when shielding using 20 g/cm2 of CFRP. A spacecraft made from CFRP will have a better radiation shielding performance than conventional Al-based spacecraft. The contribution of heavy ions for QFICRP based effective dose equivalent was larger by a factor of ~ 3 compared to that for RBEγacute based effective dose equivalent. The shielding materials efficiently reduced the effective dose equivalent due to ions with QFICRP > 3.36 and RBEγacute > 2.26. QFICRP and RBEγacute have advantages and disadvantages in quantifying the dose equivalent of space radiation, and the establishment of a standard parameter specified for a mixed radiation environment occupied by protons and heavy ions is necessary for practical dose assessment in deep space.

Nature

#Spacecraft #shielding 🛡️ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_threat_from_cosmic_rays#Spacecraft_shielding

Spaceflight 🚀May 2, 2023

#ESA 📆 26/08/2022 in 📆 August 1972, a series of powerful solar 🔆 storms took place in the middle of #NASA’s #Apollo 16 and 17 #Moon missions. It is thought the #radiation dose delivered would have caused acute radiation #poisoning 🤢. For an #astronaut on a spacewalk, it could be #lethal ☠️ https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/Protecting_Artemis_and_lunar_explorers_from_space_radiation

#NASA #Orion #radiation protection plan 🗒️ "astronauts will position themselves in the central part of the crew module and #create a #shelter using the stowage bags 🛍️ on board. The crew would in some cases need to stay inside for as long as 24 hours ⌛." https://www.nasa.gov/feature/scientists-and-engineers-evaluate-orion-radiation-protection-plan

Reminds me of #MarieCurie : The damaging effects of #ionising #radiation were not known at the time of her work, which had been carried out without the #safety #measures later developed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie#Death

#HumanSpaceflightHealth #RadiationProtection #Artemis #LunarGateway

Picture : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_iso_radiation.svg

Protecting Artemis and lunar explorers from space radiation

@spaceflight space isn't safe. But then neither is Montana in winter.

@SkipHuffman regarding radiation ? https://rmtd.mt.gov/safetylosscontrol/library/rad

@spaceflight Frostbite will kill you faster. My point is that safety is an important consideration almost everywhere. Space just changes the hazards.

@SkipHuffman they seem to see that differently https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/28/books/review/kelly-zach-weinersmith-city-on-mars.html

Book review: “A City on Mars,” by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

Probably not, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith argue in “A City on Mars.”

The New York Times

@spaceflight oh, adding "Mars" to the equation adds a whole new set of hazards. I haven't actually finished their book yet, but I mostly agree with what I have read.

@SkipHuffman the radiation hazard should be the same at the lunar gateway ? But you could live in lava tubes on the Moon as well as on Mars. The distance certainly makes a difference.

@spaceflight oh the radiation hazard is absolutely real. But can be significantly mitigated by wrapping living quarters in "stuff". Surround the sleeping quarters with fuel tanks and you cut exposure by 1/3. Use those same areas as storm shelters during high radiation events.

Spaceflight 🚀May 2, 2023

#ESA #MARE #Aerospace Medicine project : #Radiaton mannequins 👭 Helga and Zohar were handed over to #DLR for science analysis after their flight beyond the #Moon and back with #Artemis I. The results will provide a three-dimensional image of the human body, showing the amount of #radiation exposure on bones and organs during a #lunar flight https://blogs.esa.int/orion/2023/01/20/first-radiation-checks-on-female-phantoms-after-moon-ride

#HumanSpaceflightHealth

First radiation checks on female phantoms after Moon ride – Orion blog

News and updates on Europe's Service Module for NASA's Orion spacecraft and Artemis

#HumanSpaceflightHealth #LunarGateway

Spaceflight 🚀May 7, 2023

#Nature 📆 19 October 2021 ☢️ #RadiationProtection : The three-layer shield 🛡️ showed advantages due to the diversity and lower number of layers, and lower construction #cost 💶. The ultimate optimal case is a combination of three layers of Bronze- Aluminum and Molybdenum. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99739-2

Picture : Penetrating Powers of Ionizing Radiation https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EPA_image_-_Penetrating_Powers_of_Ionizing_Radiation_Image.svg

Multilayer radiation shield for satellite electronic components protection - Scientific Reports

In this paper, various multi-layer shields are designed, optimized, and analyzed for electron and proton space environments. The design process is performed for various suitable materials for the local protection of sensitive electronic devices using MCNPX code and the Genetic optimization Algorithm. In the optimizations process, the total ionizing dose is 53.3% and 72% greater than the aluminum shield for proton and electron environments, respectively. Considering the importance of the protons in the LEO orbits, the construction of the shield was based on designing a proton source. A sample shield is built using a combination of Aluminum Bronze and molybdenum layers with a copper carrier to demonstrate the idea. Comparisons of radiation attenuation coefficient results indicate a good agreement between the experimental, simulation, and analytical calculations results. The good specifications of the proposed multi-layer shield prove their capability and ability to use in satellite missions for electronic device protection.

Nature

#HumanSpaceflightHealth #RadiationProtection

Spaceflight 🚀May 8, 2023

#Human subject 👨‍🚀 research, Declaration of #Helsinki : "concern for the interests of the #subject must always prevail over the interests of #science and #society." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_subject_research#Declaration_of_Helsinki

#ESA "Crew Health Performance Subsystem" : Environmental #monitoring 🔬 (#radiation ☢️, chemical hazards) https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Gateway_International_Habitat

#NASA : Apr 15, 2021 #Gateway Instruments to Improve Radiation #Detection 🔬 for #Artemis Astronauts 👨‍🚀 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gateway-instruments-to-improve-radiation-detection-for-artemis-astronauts

#NASA : Jul 11, 2022 A New Era of #Science 🔬 on the #LunarGateway : #SpaceWeather #instruments 🔬 will advance scientists’ #knowledge to help them #understand #risks https://www.nasa.gov/feature/a-new-era-of-science-on-the-lunar-gateway

Pictures (combined) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black-mouse-in-gloved-hands.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Astronaut-EVA_edit3.png

Human subject research - Wikipedia

Spaceflight 🚀Jun 8, 2023

“There’re a lot of hazards we don’t know about. In #LEO, we are protected by our #magnetosphere from #SpaceRadiation. If we go outside of that, all of the sudden we have #galactic #CosmicRays ☢️ we have to deal with, we have a lot of #SolarParticles we have to deal with and we also have variable #gravity”. Even a short flight beyond #ISS altitude impacts various aspects of human physiology and #microbiome 🦠 composition. https://asm.org/Articles/2022/October/Out-of-This-World-Microbes-in-Space

#HumanSpaceflightHealth

Out of This World: Microbes in Space | ASM.org

When humans go to space, microbes go with them. Researchers are learning how space impacts the microbes living in, on and around astronauts—and how they can be used to advance future missions.

ASM.org

Spaceflight 🚀Aug 6, 2023

📆 4 August 2023 #GammaRays ☢️ coming from the #sun ☀️ at much higher #energy levels than previously anticipated.

“The sun is more surprising than we knew. We thought we had this #star figured out, but that’s not the case” https://www.independent.co.uk/space/sun-highest-energy-gamma-rays-b2387495.html

Physical Review Letters 📆 3 August 2023 "Current #theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how #solar magnetic fields shape these interactions" https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201

Astronomers perplexed by discovery of highest-yet energy blast detected from sun

‘We thought we had this star figured out, but that’s not the case’

The Independent

#RadiationProtection #HumanSpaceflightHealth

Spaceflight 🚀Oct 1, 2023

📆 Oct 4, 2019 “We don’t have a clue 🙈🙉🙊 about #radiation ☢️. The way #NASA handles a lot of the radiation work has been a lot of predictions 🔮. I think that we’re grossly underestimating the effects.”

In reality, some kind of radiation shielding 🛡️ will be needed https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/4/20895056/elon-musk-starship-spacex-human-health-life-support-radiation

Elon Musk’s future Starship updates could use more details on human survival

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has now given four presentations about his company’s Starship rocket, but all of those updates mostly focused on the vehicle’s external stats. Musk has barely touched on the technologies needed to keep people alive and healthy while on Starship — technologies that need to be developed relatively soon if the spacecraft has any hope of carrying people to deep-space destinations like the Moon and Mars in the near future.

The Verge

Spaceflight 🚀Nov 26, 2023

National Library of #Medicine ⚕️ : In case of #SPE ☀️ occurrence for Intra-Vehicular Activities (IVA) outside a #RadiationShelter, dose reductions to BFO in the range of 44-57% 📉 are demonstrated to be achievable with the #spacesuit designs made only of water 💦 elements, or of multi-layer protection elements (with a thin layer of a high density material covering the water filled volume) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29198316/

#wearable #RadiationProtection #spacesuit #HumanSpaceflightHealth

Exploring innovative radiation shielding approaches in space: A material and design study for a wearable radiation protection spacesuit - PubMed

We present a design study for a wearable radiation-shielding spacesuit, designed to protect astronauts' most radiosensitive organs. The suit could be used in an emergency, to perform necessary interventions outside a radiation shelter in the space habitat in case of a Solar Proton Event (SPE). A wea …

PubMed

#RadiationProtection
#HumanSpaceflightHealth

On #Earth, 2.4 mSv is normal. Above 100 mSv, cancer is likely. People on the #ISS face levels of 200 mSv, and #interplanetary levels of #radiation ☢️ are around 600 mSv. Researchers speculate that travel to #Mars 🔴 could involve a 30% risk of #cancer.
#Metals, including #lead and #aluminum, would make poor shields 🛡️ in #DeepSpace https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/308764

The health hazards of space travel

As the opportunity for space travel comes closer and astronauts start thinking about visits to Mars, we ask: what are the health risks of space travel?

Medical News Today

Canux Dec 14, 2023

@spaceflight I thought we knew how to manage this. Water is an excellent radiation shield. We need water to survive any long-term mission. Isn’t the plan to store the needed and recycled water as a jacket around the crew areas of any interplanetary ship?

Spaceflight 🚀Dec 15, 2023

@canux not exactly 😜 https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23230-mars-trip-to-use-astronaut-poo-as-radiation-shield/

Mars trip to use astronaut poo as radiation shield

To protect themselves from cosmic rays the couple aboard the proposed Inspiration mission to Mars will line the craft's walls with water, food – and their own faeces

New Scientist

60sRefugee Dec 15, 2023

@spaceflight One of the attractions of an Aldrin Cycler is that it can cumulatively add mass through its service life, eventually becoming far better shielded than a ship's habitat module.

Spaceflight 🚀Sep 29, 2023

“Due to the harsh #radiation ☢️ environment in #space, there is no chance that the sample from #Bennu could contain living organisms,” the #SpaceAgency said.https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/28/asteroid-bennu-smithsonian-sample

#OSIRISREx #NASA

Smithsonian to get some of the asteroid sample that NASA brought back

Material from the asteroid Bennu will go to the Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian said.

The Washington Post

Donald F Robertson Nov 26, 2023

@spaceflight Why not just mount the crew's drinking water tanks around a small room.