Showing papers by "Giovanni Santin published in 2023"
TL;DR: The ESA/SciSpacE Space Radiation White Paper as discussed by the authors identifies the important challenges to overcome, that could be a major showstopper of the space endeavor, and underlines priorities for future research and development, to enable safe human and robotic exploration of space beyond Low Earth Orbit.
Abstract: Human spaceflight is entering a new era of sustainable human space exploration. By 2030 humans will regularly fly to the Moon's orbit, return to the Moon's surface and preparations for crewed Mars missions will intensify. In planning these undertakings, several challenges will need to be addressed in order to ensure the safety of astronauts during their space travels. One of the important challenges to overcome, that could be a major showstopper of the space endeavor, is the exposure to the space radiation environment. There is an urgent need for quantifying, managing and limiting the detrimental health risks and electronics damage induced by space radiation exposure. Such risks raise key priority topics for space research programs. Risk limitation involves obtaining a better understanding of space weather phenomena and the complex radiation environment in spaceflight, as well as developing and applying accurate dosimetric instruments, understanding related short- and long-term health risks, and strategies for effective countermeasures to minimize both exposure to space radiation and the remaining effects post exposure. The ESA/SciSpacE Space Radiation White Paper identifies those topics and underlines priorities for future research and development, to enable safe human and robotic exploration of space beyond Low Earth Orbit.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , a modified version of the microdosimetric Theory of Dual Radiation Action (TDRA) was used to calculate the average $$Q$$ for different mission scenarios in low-earth orbit and in deep space.
Abstract: Abstract Space radiation exposure from omnipresent Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) in interplanetary space poses a serious carcinogenic risk to astronauts due to the—limited or absent—protective effect of the Earth’s magnetosphere and, in particular, the terrestrial atmosphere. The radiation risk is directly influenced by the quality of the radiation, i.e., its pattern of energy deposition at the micron/DNA scale. For stochastic biological effects, radiation quality is described by the quality factor, $$Q$$ Q , which can be defined as a function of Linear Energy Transfer (LET) or the microdosimetric lineal energy ( $$y$$ y ). In the present work, the average $$Q$$ Q of GCR for different mission scenarios was calculated using a modified version of the microdosimetric Theory of Dual Radiation Action (TDRA). NASA’s OLTARIS platform was utilized to generate the radiation environment behind different aluminum shielding (0–30 g/cm 2 ) for a typical mission scenario in low-earth orbit (LEO) and in deep space. The microdosimetric lineal energy spectra of ions ( $$Z\ge 1$$ Z ≥ 1 ) in 1 μm liquid water spheres were calculated by a generalized analytical model which considers energy-loss fluctuations and δ-ray transport inside the irradiated medium. The present TDRA-based $$Q$$ Q -values for the LEO and deep space missions were found to differ by up to 10% and 14% from the corresponding ICRP-based $$Q$$ Q -values and up to 3% and 6% from NASA’s $$Q$$ Q -model. In addition, they were found to be in good agreement with the $$Q$$ Q -values measured in the International Space Station (ISS) and by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) which represent, respectively, a LEO and deep space orbit.