Impact of Spacecraft-Shell Composition on 1 GeV/Nucleon ${}^{56}$Fe Ion-Fragmentation and Dose Reduction

Abstract

Through the use of experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations we investigate the shielding properties of spacecraft-shell compositions exposed to 1 GeV/nucleon 56 Fe ions, representative of the worst part of the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) spectrum. Through the use of the Geant4 Radiation Analysis for Space (GRAS) tool, the dose reduction and the 56 Fe-fragmentation induced by those structures currently used to protect part of the International Space Station (ISS) or designed for future inflatable habitats, are analyzed. The possible effects on spacecraft electronics are discussed.

Space radiation protection: Destination Mars

“…The same method has been used to estimate the shielding effectiveness of Kevlar and Nextel (Fig. 4) (Lobascio et al, 2008), commonly used against micrometeorites in space structures, and of the composite materials in the walls of the Columbus module on the ISS (Silvestri et al, 2011). ESA is currently sponsoring a set of measurements at GSI in Germany to test in situ planetary materials (Mars and moon regolith) and new materials with very high hydrogen content and excellent structural properties (Fig.…”

Validation of Geant4 physics models for 56Fe ion beam in various media

“…Dose reduction for 56 Fe ions per unit areal density dD n (cm 2 /g) in carbon, aluminum and polyethylene is calculated as [18]: …”

“…Pshenichnov et al [17] described the depth-dose distribution of heavy-ion, 56 Fe, in water using the binary cascade and abrasion models with and without using multifragmentation processes. Also, Silvestri et al [18] used the Geant4 Radiation Analysis for Space (GRAS) tool to study interactions of 56 Fe ions. In a previous study [19], we incorporated four models (stated here as the G4code): standard electromagnetic physics, binary cascade, Fermi break-up and statistical multi-fragmentation models to define the Bragg peak for a 12 C ion beam in polyethylene more precisely.…”

Total and Partial Fragmentation Cross-Section of 500 MeV/nucleon Carbon Ions on Different Target Materials

“…A general sketch of the setup: the position of Thin and Thick detectors but when the incident radiation interacts with the spacecraft hull and internal materials, nuclear fragmentation modifies the external radiation field [4]. A recent exhaustive review on this subject are given in [5], [6], [7]. Both applications, cancer therapy dose and optimization of shielding materials for space explorations, require an accurate knowledge of the physics of the fragmentation process.…”