Countermeasures for space radiation induced adverse biologic effects

Radiation exposure in space is expected to increase the risk of cancer and other adverse biological effects in astronauts. The types of space radiation of particular concern for astronaut health are protons and heavy ions known as high atomic number and high energy (HZE) particles. Recent studies have indicated that carcinogenesis induced by protons and HZE particles may be modifiable. We have been evaluating the effects of proton and HZE particle radiation in cultured human cells and animals for nearly a decade. Our results indicate that exposure to proton and HZE particle radiation increases oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, cataract development and malignant transformation in in vivo and/or in vitro experimental systems. We have also shown that these adverse biological effects can be prevented, at least partially, by treatment with antioxidants and some dietary supplements that are readily available and have favorable safety profiles. Some of the antioxidants and dietary supplements are effective in preventing radiation induced malignant transformation in vitro even when applied several days after the radiation exposure. Our recent progress is reviewed and discussed in the context of the relevant literature.     

磁屏蔽装置与磁场模拟器的耦合分析

地磁导航半实物仿真是地磁导航从理论走向工程应用的关键环节,而地磁场环境仿真技术是地磁导航由计算机仿真过渡到半实物仿真的桥梁。针对地磁场环境仿真系统中磁屏蔽装置与其内部磁场模拟器的耦合问题,采用仿真分析与实验验证相结合的方法,利用Ansoft Maxwell仿真软件设计仿真实验对二者的耦合关系进行了探索性研究,并基于小型地磁场环境仿真系统对仿真得到的结论进行了实验验证。仿真和实验结果均表明:磁场模拟器在大电流强磁场的工作情况下会对磁屏蔽装置造成严重的磁化,进而会影响其屏蔽效果;磁屏蔽装置不会影响磁场模拟器的线性度和均匀性,但是会增大轴线中心点附近的磁场值;磁屏蔽装置会使磁场模拟器的电感增大,从而使实时性变差。研究结论可以为地磁场环境仿真系统的设计提供理论依据。      

Passive cooling of superconducting magnetic systems in space

The equilibrium temperature of a system in space can be lowered by a suitable choice of its geometry and its attitude. This remark is important for devices based on medium temperature and high temperature superconducting materials, and offers the possibility of their fully passive cooling without or with a marginal recourse to active systems. General parameterizations are given and simple schemes discussed. The adopted geometrical configuration and the attitude can enhance the role of passive cooling of the large superconducting magnetic systems required for protecting from ionizing radiation manned habitats in deep space. A specific example based on MgB₂ cable for protecting large volume habitats (500 and 1000 m³) is treated. The systems can be run in deep space at equilibrium temperatures around 20 K mainly by passive cooling, provided that their geometry and attitude would be suitably chosen.     

辐射测温仪工作波长的选择方法

在辐射测温仪工作波长的选择上,以往一直参照维思位移定律。通过理论分析,发现依照该定律选择测温仪工作彼长是不完善的。为了提高仪表灵敏度和测温准确度,推导出了一种新公式,提出了一种新的工作波长的选择方法,并在理论上证明该方法较目前常用的方法更为理想。     

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.     

基于混响室的电磁环境及自然环境综合试验箱设计和仿真技术

本文提出一种基于混响室平台将电磁环境和自然环境结合的综合试验箱集成技术,该试验箱集成了环境试验条件和电磁辐射敏感度试验条件,可以在高低温、湿热、温度循环、温度冲击等多种环境条件下同时对电子设备施加电磁辐射干扰,考核电子设备在同施加环境应力和电磁应力的复杂条件下的适应性。经过设计、建造和测试,该集成技术满足各项预期指标并容易进行推广,可进一步降低设备试验成本。     

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.     

Comparison of the mean quality factors for astronauts calculated using the Q-functions proposed by ICRP,ICRU, and NASA

For the estimation of the radiation risk for astronauts, not only the organ absorbed doses but also their mean quality factors must be evaluated. Three functions have been proposed by different organizations for expressing the radiation quality, including the Q(L), Q(y), and Q_NASA(Z, E) relationships as defined in International Committee of Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 60, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Report 40, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) TP-2011-216155, respectively. The Q(L) relationship is the most simple and widely used for space dosimetry, but the use of the latter two functions enables consideration of the difference in the track structure of various charged particles during the risk estimation.     

煤油-氧火焰中铁的辐射光谱实验研究

为了对羽流激波中金属光谱特性进行研究,用煤油-氧火焰气体模拟煤油-氧发动机的羽流,以二茂铁溶于煤油模拟发动机材料铁的磨损,给出不同混合比下铁在火焰中辐射光谱的实验与仿真结果.实验光谱数据随铁的浓度不同而变化,理论光谱与实验结果吻合较好,验证了羽流中金属原子辐射光谱的仿真程序.为基于羽流光谱分析的发动机故障诊断研究奠定了实验与理论基础.