Solar particle event storm shelter requirements for missions beyond low Earth orbit

Townsend, Lawrence W.; Adams, J. H.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Clowdsley, M. S.; Fry, D.; Jun, I.; McLeod, Catherine D.; Minow, Joseph I.; Moore, D.F.; Norbury, John W.; Norman, Ryan B.; Reames, D. V.; Schwadron, N. A.; Semones, E.; Singleterry, Robert C.; Slaba, Tony C.; Werneth, Charles M.; Xapsos, M.A.

doi:10.1016/j.lssr.2018.02.002

Cited by 51 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Space radiation exposure is one of the major risks for astronauts’ health ( 1 – 3 ) as the chronic exposure to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) may have late health effects such as induction of cataract ( 4 ), cancer ( 5 – 7 ), or degenerative diseases of the central nervous system ( 8 ) or other organ systems ( 9 , 10 ). Moreover, exposure to large solar particle events (SPEs) in a situation with insufficient shielding may cause severe acute effects ( 11 ). The exposure to GCR is inevitable but generally contributes a low dose rate compared to the sporadic, unpredictable, but sometimes very intense SPEs in which solar energetic particles are accelerated close to the Sun by solar flares and coronal mass ejections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First measurements of the radiation dose on the lunar surface

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human exploration of the Moon is associated with substantial risks to astronauts from space radiation. On the surface of the Moon, this consists of the chronic exposure to galactic cosmic rays and sporadic solar particle events. The interaction of this radiation field with the lunar soil leads to a third component that consists of neutral particles, i.e., neutrons and gamma radiation. The Lunar Lander Neutrons and Dosimetry experiment aboard China’s Chang’E 4 lander has made the first ever measurements of the radiation exposure to both charged and neutral particles on the lunar surface. We measured an average total absorbed dose rate in silicon of 13.2 ± 1 μGy/hour and a neutral particle dose rate of 3.1 ± 0.5 μGy/hour.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First measurements of the radiation dose on the lunar surface

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…New habitats designed for deep space missions may be equipped with storm shelters to minimize health impacts to crew during SPEs. These measures should provide adequate protection to crew with maximum exposure estimates predicted to be 250 mGy-eq for the 30-day blood forming organ (BFO) permissible exposure limit (PEL) inside a storm shelter based on the 1989 solar flare data (Townsend et al 2018).…”

Section: Current Spe Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spaceflight medical countermeasures: a strategic approach for mitigating effects from solar particle events

Carnell

2020

International Journal of Radiation Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

NASA was recently charged with returning humans to the lunar surface within the next five years. This will require preparation for spaceflight missions of longer distance and duration than ever performed in the past. Protecting the crew and mission from the hazards associated with spaceflight will be a priority. One of the primary hazards to address is the challenging radiation environment. Space is unforgiving when it comes to radiation. There is galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) that is pervasive in space and the possibility of solar particle events (SPE) that release high energy particles from the sun that can result in high doses of radiation to the crew if unprotected. NASA has been preparing and evaluating several means of ensuring that crew health is not compromised during these missions. Physical shielding, space weather monitoring, and more recently storm shelters are all possible means of protecting crew during a SPE. Medical countermeasures have not been necessary for operations in low Earth orbit; however, future human exploration missions should consider including therapies onboard to address radiation-induced health effects. While the likelihood of experiencing a significant SPE is very low, serious adverse health effects or even death could occur if no medical countermeasures were available. Having a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medical countermeasure on board that could mitigate acute radiation-induced hematopoietic syndrome due to a SPE could provide life saving measures for the crew. This paper discusses the mitigation strategies that can be implemented for Artemis missions and identifies numerous areas of research for future improvements.

show abstract

“…The strong carcinogenic potential of HZE [14] has been a concern for many decades and has been considered the biggest risk factor for human health in missions beyond LEO [13,15]. In contrast, in LEO, where the ISS is located, the radiation dose from HZE is reduced due to the protection provided by the Earth’s magnetosphere, and is roughly equal to the dose from low-energy protons trapped in the inner radiation belt [13,16]. Most of the ISS orbit lies inside the radiation belts; the majority of the dose is from passages through the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the inner belt drops down to ISS altitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GeneLab Database Analyses Suggest Long-Term Impact of Space Radiation on the Cardiovascular System by the Activation of FYN Through Reactive Oxygen Species

Beheshti

McDonald

Grabham

et al. 2019

IJMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Space radiation has recently been considered a risk factor for astronauts’ cardiac health. As an example, for the case of how to query and identify datasets within NASA’s GeneLab database and demonstrate the database utility, we used an unbiased systems biology method for identifying key genes/drivers for the contribution of space radiation on the cardiovascular system. This knowledge can contribute to designing appropriate experiments targeting these specific pathways. Microarray data from cardiomyocytes of male C57BL/6 mice followed-up for 28 days after exposure to 900 mGy of 1 GeV proton or 150 mGy of 1 GeV/n 56Fe were compared to human endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured for 7 days on the International Space Station (ISS). We observed common molecular pathways between simulated space radiation and HUVECs flown on the ISS. The analysis suggests FYN is the central driver/hub for the cardiovascular response to space radiation: the known oxidative stress induced immediately following radiation would only be transient and would upregulate FYN, which in turn would reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, protecting the cardiovascular system. The transcriptomic signature of exposure to protons was also much closer to the spaceflight signature than 56Fe’s signature. To our knowledge, this is the first time GeneLab datasets were utilized to provide potential biological indications that the majority of ions on the ISS are protons, clearly illustrating the power of omics analysis. More generally, this work also demonstrates how to combine animal radiation studies done on the ground and spaceflight studies to evaluate human risk in space.

show abstract

Solar particle event storm shelter requirements for missions beyond low Earth orbit

Cited by 51 publications

References 11 publications

First measurements of the radiation dose on the lunar surface

First measurements of the radiation dose on the lunar surface

Spaceflight medical countermeasures: a strategic approach for mitigating effects from solar particle events

GeneLab Database Analyses Suggest Long-Term Impact of Space Radiation on the Cardiovascular System by the Activation of FYN Through Reactive Oxygen Species

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About