Electrostatic space radiation shielding

For the success of NASA’s new vision for space exploration to Moon, Mars and beyond, exposures from the hazards of severe space radiation in deep space long duration missions is ‘a must solve’ problem. The payload penalty demands a very stringent requirement on the design of the spacecrafts for human deep space missions. The exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) to enable routine access of space will require protection from the hazards of the accumulated exposures of space radiation, Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE), and minimizing the production of secondary radiation is a great advantage. There is a need to look to new horizons for newer technologies. The present investigation revisits electrostatic active radiation shielding and explores the feasibility of using the electrostatic shielding in concert with the state-of-the-art materials shielding and protection technologies. The full space radiation environment has been used, for the first time, to explore the feasibility of electrostatic shielding. The goal is to repel enough positive charge ions so that they miss the spacecraft without attracting thermal electrons. Conclusions are drawn for the future directions of space radiation protection.     

Modelling of protons spectra encountered in space using medical accelerator and its microdosimetric characterization

Radiation environments in space are mainly composed of protons coming from the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) pervading the universe, the Solar Particle Events (SPEs) resulting from solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and the two Van Allen Belts surrounding the Earth due to the presence of the geomagnetic field trapping charged particles. Their wide spectra of energies up to hundreds of GeV imply diverse radiobiological effects to astronauts and radiation damage to electronics in the spacecraft. Even if lower in abundance, heavy ions such as He, C, O, Si, Fe are present in space and constitute an even bigger hazard due to their high penetrability and high linear energy transfer (LET). Most irradiation facilities available for research and testing worldwide provide usually only monoenergetic beams of high-energy protons or other heavier particles limiting studies of radiobiological effects and effects on electronics to a set of discrete energies.This paper introduces a procedure where a proton fluence spectra of interest for space radiation protection, previously generated by Monte Carlo simulations was delivered using a clinical proton therapy accelerator. Particularly, it reports the first results of modelling a proton radiation field in space in the energy range from 70 to 230 MeV during a single experimental session by programming a treatment planning system (TPS) to deliver required proton irradiation energies. Moreover, the angular distribution of the proton irradiation field has been varied to reproduce the isotropic exposure experienced by humans in space. The obtained proton radiation field was characterized using a 3D sensitive volume SOI microdosimeter developed by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong, Australia.     

How Galactic Cosmic Ray models affect the estimation of radiation exposure in space

The radiation environment in space is a major concern for human spaceflight because of the adverse effects of high levels of radiation on astronauts’ health. Therefore, it is essential to perform radiation risk assessments already during the concept studies of a manned mission. Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) have been identified to be one of the primary sources of radiation exposure in space.     

Single event upset investigations on the “Flying Laptop” satellite mission

The radiation effects in electronic parts are called single-event effects, which are deemed to be critical for space missions. This paper presents the Single Event Upsets that were observed in an onboard memory device of the Low Earth Orbit “Flying Laptop” satellite mission during its in-orbit operation. The Single Event Upsets were carefully mapped on the satellite orbital space itself and their root causes were investigated together with their rates of occurrence. Subsequently, the events were traced to show several root cause sources such as (i) trapped energetic protons leaking to low altitudes within the South Atlantic Anomaly, (ii) Solar Energetic Particles emitted by an impulsive event on 10 September 2017, and (iii) Galactic Cosmic Rays. A profound analysis was carried out on the observed flight data, and its corresponding results are actually in agreement with the standard energetic particle models. The presented results provide another important insight on the Single Event Upsets for future Low Earth Orbit satellite missions.     

近月空间带电粒子环境——“嫦娥1号”“嫦娥2号”观测结果

“嫦娥1号”（CE-1）、“嫦娥2号”（CE-2）都安装了1台太阳高能粒子探测器（High-energetic ParticlesDetectors,HPD）和2台太阳风离子探测器（Solar Wind Ion Detectors,SWIDs）,进行了月球轨道200 km和100 km空间环境探测,获得了月球轨道空间高能带电粒子（质子、电子和重离子）能谱随时间的演化特征、等离子体与月球相互作用特征以及太阳风离子速度、密度和温度参量。空间环境探测数据分析结果表明：太阳活动低年、空间环境扰动水平相对较低、月球处于太阳风中时,近月空间带电粒子环境的基本特征与行星际空间相比变化不大。CE-1、CE-2在轨运行期间,发现了多起0.1～2 MeV能量电子急剧增加事件,这些事件发生在月球从太阳风运动到磁尾的所有空间区域,其中20%的事件伴随着卫星周围等离子体离子加速。模拟和统计研究表明：能量电子急剧增加使得绕月卫星和月球表面电位大幅下降导致了离子加速现象的发生;能量电子总流量大于10¹¹ cm^-2时,绕月卫星和月球表面充电电位可达负的上千伏。此外,月表溅射与反射太阳风离子、太阳风“拾起”离子等空间环境事件的发现,揭示了太阳风离子和月球存在复杂的相互作用过程。     

Moon surface radiation environment analysis for February 1956 solar event conditions

The radiation environment on the surface of the Moon presents a new source of particles resulting from the interaction of incoming solar protons and galactic cosmic rays with the lunar regolith. Here we present a study of the fluence profile of primary and secondary particles on the top 1 m layer of lunar regolith for the spectrum of one of the hardest spectrum solar event, that of February 1956. Different regolith compositions and their influence in proton and neutron production and backscattering is considered, as well as the nature of the backscattered radiation. Simple geometry Monte Carlo simulations have been used also for calculating regolith shielding properties, and it is shown that a layer of at least 50 cm regolith is needed for significantly reducing the dose levels received by astronauts in a hypothetical lunar habitat.     

A comparison of total reaction cross section models used in particle and heavy ion transport codes

Understanding the interactions and propagations of high energy protons and heavy ions are essential when trying to estimate the biological effects of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE) on personnel in space. To be able to calculate the shielding properties of different materials and radiation risks, particle and heavy ion transport codes are needed. In all particle and heavy ion transport codes, the probability function that a projectile particle will collide within a certain distance x in the matter depends on the total reaction cross sections, and the calculated partial fragmentation cross sections scale with the total reaction cross sections. It is therefore crucial that accurate total reaction cross section models are used in the transport calculations. In this paper, different models for calculating nucleon–nucleus and nucleus–nucleus total reaction cross sections are compared with each other and with measurements. The uncertainties in the calculations with the different models are discussed, as well as their overall performances with respect to the available experimental data. Finally, a new compilation of experimental data is briefly presented.     

Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) on-board Chandrayaan-2 orbiter

The remote X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a powerful technique to investigate the elemental abundances in the atmosphere-less planetary bodies. The experiment involves measuring spectra of fluorescent X-rays from lunar surface using a low energy X-ray detector onboard an orbiting satellite. Since the flux of fluorescent X-ray lines critically depend on the flux and spectrum of the incident solar X-rays, it is essential to have simultaneous and accurate measurement of X-ray from both Moon and Sun. In the context of Moon, this technique has been employed since early days of space exploration to determine elemental composition of lunar surface. However, so far it has not been possible to exploit it to its full potential due to various reasons. Therefore it is planned to continue the remote X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy experiment on-board Chandrayaan-2 which includes both lunar X-ray observations and solar X-ray observations as two separate payloads. The lunar X-ray observations will be carried out by Chandra Large Area Soft x-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) experiment; whereas the solar X-ray observations will be carried out by a separate payload, Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM). Here we present the overall design of the XSM instrument, the present development status as well as preliminary results of the laboratory model testing. XSM instrument will have two packages namely – XSM sensor package and XSM electronics package. XSM will accurately measure spectrum of Solar X-rays in the energy range of 1–15 keV with energy resolution ∼200 eV @ 5.9 keV. This will be achieved by using state-of-the-art Silicon Drift Detector (SDD), which has a unique capability of maintaining high energy resolution at very high incident count rate expected from Solar X-rays. XSM onboard Chandrayaan-2 will be the first experiment to use such detector for Solar X-ray monitoring.     

A new Mars radiation environment model with visualization.

A new model for the radiation environment to be found on the planet Mars due to Galactic Cosmic Rays (OCR) has been developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. Solar modulated primary particles rescaled for Mars conditions are transported through the Martian atmosphere, with temporal properties modeled with variable timescales, down to the surface, with altitude and backscattering patterns taken into account. The Martian atmosphere has been modeled by using the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model--version 2001 (Mars-GRAM 2001). The altitude to compute the atmospheric thickness profile has been determined by using a model for the topography based on the data provided by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The Mars surface composition has been modeled based on averages over the measurements obtained from orbiting spacecraft and at various landing sites, taking into account the possible volatile inventory (e.g., CO2 ice, H2O ice) along with its time variation throughout the Martian year. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code. The Mars Radiation Environment Model has been made available worldwide through the Space Ionizing Radiation Effects and Shielding Tools (SIREST) website, a project of NASA Langley Research Center.     

基于ACE飞船观测的银河宇宙线与太阳风变化的统计研究

基于ACE飞船的资料，通过时序迭加方法统计分析了最近两个太阳活动极小年时期（2007.0-2009.0和2016.5-2019.0年）的宇宙线计数与太阳风参数的关系.结果表明，宇宙线的计数受太阳风共转流相互作用区的强烈影响，宇宙线计数变化与快慢太阳风流界面的位置密切相关，例如流界面的穿越通常伴随着宇宙线计数的下降.分析表明，第一时段的具有“雪犁”效应的宇宙线计数下降对应于流界面附近的扩散系数急剧下降，而第二时段的非“雪犁”效应的计数下降可能是由穿越流界面后的扩散系数增大引起的.日球层电流片也与宇宙线计数变化存在一定的相关性，宇宙线粒子在日球层电流片附近存在一定程度的堆积.太阳风对宇宙线的作用机制表明，宇宙线的漂移和扩散效应决定了其在1AU附近的分布变化.      

Analysis of the space radiation doses obtained simultaneously at two different locations outside the ISS

Space weather and related ionizing radiation has been recognized as one of the main health concerns for the International Space Station (ISS) crew. The estimation of the radiation effect on humans outside the ISS requires at first order accurate knowledge of their accumulated absorbed dose rates, which depend on the global space radiation distribution, solar cycle and local variations generated by the 3D mass distribution surrounding the ISS. The R3DE (Radiation Risks Radiometer-Dosimeter for the EXPOSE-E platform) on the European Technological Exposure Facility (EuTEF) worked successfully outside of the European Columbus module between February 2008 and September 2009. A very similar instrument named R3DR for the EXPOSE-R platform worked outside the Russian Zvezda module of the ISS between March 2009 and August 2010. Both are Liulin-type detectors, Bulgarian-built miniature spectrometer-dosimeters. The acquired approximately 5 million deposited energy spectra from which the flux and absorbed dose rate were calculated with 10 s resolution behind less than 0.41 g cm⁻² shielding. This paper analyses the spectra collected in 2009 by the R3DE/R instruments and the long-term variations in the different radiation environments of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR), inner radiation belt trapped protons in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and relativistic electrons from the Outer Radiation Belt (ORB). The R3DE instrument, heavily shielded by the surrounding structures, measured smaller primary fluxes and dose rates from energetic protons from the SAA and relativistic electrons from the ORB but higher values from GCRs because of the contribution from secondary particles. The main conclusion from this investigation is that the dose rates from different radiation sources around the International Space Station (ISS) have a large special and temporal dynamic range. The collected data can be interpreted as possible doses obtained by the cosmonauts and astronauts during Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) because the R3DE/R instruments shielding is very similar to the Russian and American space suits average shielding (,  and ). Fast, active measurements are required to assess accurately the dose accumulated by astronauts during EVA.     

Very low frequency interferometry for the Chang’E-2 project

Very low frequency interferometry among two astronomical experiments has been proposed and accepted for further study for the second phase of China’s lunar exploration programme (the Chang’E Programme), which is envisaged to operate a lander and a rover on the surface of the moon. This experiment is an interferometer experiment in the very low frequency (VLF, f < 15 MHz) regime of radio frequencies with at least degree-level angular resolution. The goals include observing solar storm activities, Coronal Mass Ejections, Auroral Kilometric Radiation, and planetary radiation in the solar system, studying the origin of Cosmic Rays, spectral properties of pulsars, surveying ionized hydrogen in the Galaxy, and exploring coherent radio emissions.     

Lunar cosmic ray radiation environments during Luna and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions

The RV-2N-series instruments onboard Luna missions and the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument onboard Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) were designed to characterize the global lunar radiation environment and its biological impacts by measuring cosmic ray (CR) intensity. In this study, we have shown that the RV-2N-series instruments onboard of Russian Luna missions and the CRaTER reliably detect both background CRs and solar proton events (SPEs) in the lunar radiation environment using the proton intensity measured by the RV-2N-series onboard Luna missions out of the Russian Luna program for the exploration of the Moon (November 1970–August 1975) and the CR intensity on the Moon observed by the CRaTER (June 2009–March 2011). Those were compared with the CR intensities observed by neutron monitors (McMurdo, Thule, Oulu) on the Earth. The sunspot number is used as the index of solar activity (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). As a result, the background CR intensities on the Moon turned out to have a good anti-correlation with the solar activity. We have also identified the proton intensity increasing events on the Moon which have the similar profiles to those observed by neutron monitors on the Earth. Most of these events show the significant increase of proton intensities in the lunar radiation environment when the SPEs associated with solar eruptions are verified. Therefore, most of the proton intensity increasing events are associated with the energetic solar particles in the lunar environment.     

月球粒子辐射环境探测现状

月球表面没有磁场的保护,粒子辐射是人类在月球活动的重要风险要素。概述了月球的辐射环境以及辐射来源,并介绍了月球探测的现状,特别提及了近年来几个较为典型的月球辐射探测实例及其探测结果;介绍了我国“嫦娥4号”上搭载的月表中子与辐射剂量探测仪（Lunar Lander Neutron&Dosimetry,LND）的科学目标及其技术指标。LND的科学目标主要包括：载人登月辐射剂量的测量、月球南极艾特肯盆地水含量的测量、艾特肯盆地FeO含量的测量,以及为日球层科学的研究提供依据。     

Surface temperatures at the nearside of the Moon as a record of the radiation budget of Earth’s climate system

Understanding the balance between incoming radiation from the Sun and outgoing radiation from Earth is of critical importance in the study of climate change on Earth. As the only natural satellite of Earth, the Moon is a unique platform for the study of the disk-wide radiation budget of Earth. There are no complications from atmosphere, hydrosphere, or biosphere on the Moon. The nearside of the Moon allows for a focus on the solar radiation during its daytime, and on terrestrial radiation during its nighttime. Additionally, lunar regolith temperature is an amplifier of the terrestrial radiation signal because lunar temperature is proportional to the fourth square root of radiation as such is much more sensitive to the weak terrestrial radiation in nighttime than the strong solar radiation in daytime. Indeed, the long-term lunar surface temperature time series obtained inadvertently by the Heat Flow Experiment at the Apollo 15 landing site three decades ago may be the first important observation from deep space of both incoming and outgoing radiation of the terrestrial climate system. A revisit of the lunar surface temperature time series reveals distinct characteristics in lunar surface daytime and nighttime temperature variations, governed respectively by solar and terrestrial radiation.     

月球仍然活跃的构造、火成和内部特征等证据

月球尽管被作为类地行星演化的最终形态的代表,被认为在25亿年前已经完全冷却,根据阿波罗时 代以来、特别是近十余年的月球轨道器和着陆器获得的关于月球构造、火成活动、月震和内部结构等多种证据,表明月球从深层内部到表面仍然活跃,尚未彻底冷却“死亡”。这将完全改变人们关于月球演化历史和状态的观念。     

Estimation of Galactic Cosmic Ray exposure inside and outside the Earth’s magnetosphere during the recent solar minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24

The evidently low solar activity observed between solar cycles 23 and 24 during the years 2008–2010 led to a substantial increase in the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) intensity in comparison with preceding solar minima. As the GCRs consist of highly-ionizing charged particles having the potential to cause biological damage, they are a subject of concern for manned missions to space. With the enhanced particle fluxes observed between 2008 and 2010, it is reasonable to assume that the radiation exposure from GCR must have also increased to unusually high levels. In this paper, the GCR exposure outside and inside the Earth’s magnetosphere is numerically calculated for time periods starting from 1970 to the end of 2011 in order to investigate the increase in dose levels during the years 2008–2010 in comparison with the last three solar minima. The dose rates were calculated in a water sphere, used as a surrogate for the human body, either unshielded or surrounded by aluminium shielding of 0.3, 10 or 40 g/cm².     

Ground-based simulations of galactic cosmic ray fragmentation and transport.

Since mean free paths for nuclear fragmentation are of the order of the ranges of primary Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) nuclei, determination of the radiation field produced by successive fragmentations of nuclei in material and tissue is essential to accurate assessment of GCR radiation risk to humans on long-duration missions outside the geomagnetosphere. We describe some recent measurements made at the Bevalac of heavy ion transport through materials, with representative results and examples of how they may be applied to aspects of the space radiation problem, including efforts to devise analytical tools for predicting biological effects and for designing spacecraft shielding.     

A lunar laboratory

An international research laboratory can be established on the Moon in the early years of the 21st Century. It can be built using the transportation system now envisioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which includes a space station for Earth orbital logistics and orbital transfer vehicles for Earth-Moon transportation. A scientific laboratory on the Moon would permit extended surface and subsurface geological exploration; long-duration experiments defining the lunar environment and its modification by surface activity; new classes of observations in astronomy; space plasma and fundamental physics experiments; and lunar resource development. The discovery of a lunar source for propellants may reduce the cost of constructing large facilities in space and enhance other space programs such as Mars exploration.     

Characterization of the near Earth radiation environment by Liulin type spectrometers

Comprehensive study of the dose, flux and deposited energy spectra shape data obtained by Liulin type spectrometers on spacecraft (five different experiments) and aircraft since 2001 is performed with the aim of understanding how well these parameters can characterize the type of predominant particles and their energy in the near Earth radiation environment. Three different methods for characterisation of the incoming radiation from Liulin spectrometers are described. The results revealed that the most informative one is by the shape of the deposited energy spectra. Spectra generated by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) protons and their secondaries are with linear falling shape in the coordinates deposited energy/deposited per channel dose rate. The position of the maximum of the deposited energy spectra inside the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region depends on the incident energy of the incoming protons. Spectra generated by relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt have a maximum in the first channels. For higher energy depositions these spectra are similar to the GCR spectra. Mixed radiation by protons and electrons and/or bremsstrahlung is characterized by spectra with 2 maxima. All type of spectra has a knee close to 6.2 MeV deposited energy, which correspond to the stopping energy of protons in the detector. Dose to flux ratio known also as specific dose is another high information parameter, which is given by experimentally obtained formulae [Heffner, J. Nuclear radiation and safety in space. M. Atomizdat. 115, 1971 (in Russian)] connecting the dose to flux ratio and the incident energy of the particles.