Space radiation measurements during the Artemis I lunar mission

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: George, Stuart P.; Gaza, Ramona; Matthiae, Daniel; Laramore, Diego; Lehti, Jussi; Campbell-Ricketts, Thomas; Kroupa, Martin; Stoffle, Nicholas; Marsalek, Karel; Przybyla, Bartos; Abdelmelek, Mena; Aeckerlein, Joachim; Bahadori, Amir A.; Barzilla, Janet; Dieckmann, Matthias; Ecord, Michael; Egeland, Ricky; Eronen, Timo; Fry, Dan; Jones, Bailey H.; Hellweg, Christine E.; Houri, Jordan; Hirsh, Robert; Hirvonen, Mika; Hovland, Scott; Hussein, Hesham; Johnson, A. Steve; Kasemann, Moritz; Lee, Kerry; Leitgab, Martin; McLeod, Catherine; Milstein, Oren; Pinsky, Lawrence; Quinn, Phillip; Riihonen, Esa; Rohde, Markus; Rozhdestvenskyy, Sergiy; Saari, Jouni; Schram, Aaron; Straube, Ulrich; Turecek, Daniel; Virtanen, Pasi; Waterman, Gideon; Wheeler, Scott; Whitman, Kathryn; Wirtz, Michael; Vandewalle, Madelyn; Zeitlin, Cary; Semones, Edward; Berger, Thomas
• 署名单位: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); NASA Johnson Space Center; Helmholtz Association; German Aerospace Centre (DLR); European Space Agency; European Space Research & Technology Centre; University of Houston System; University of Houston; European Space Agency; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kansas State University; Aerospace Corporation - USA; Abbott Laboratories
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-6442
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07927-7
• 发表日期: 2024-10-03
• 页码: 48-+
• 关键词: particle radiation; transport; time; mars; simulation; dosimetry; RISK

摘要

Space radiation is a notable hazard for long-duration human spaceflight(1). Associated risks include cancer, cataracts, degenerative diseases(2) and tissue reactions from large, acute exposures(3). Space radiation originates from diverse sources, including galactic cosmic rays4, trapped-particle (Van Allen) belts(5) and solar-particle events(6). Previous radiation data are from the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle in low-Earth orbit protected by heavy shielding and Earth's magnetic field(7,8) and lightly shielded interplanetary robotic probes such as Mars Science Laboratory and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter(9,10). Limited data from the Apollo missions(11-13) and ground measurements with substantial caveats are also available(14). Here we report radiation measurements from the heavily shielded Orion spacecraft on the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission. At differing shielding locations inside the vehicle, a fourfold difference in dose rates was observed during proton-belt passes that are similar to large, reference solar-particle events. Interplanetary cosmic-ray dose equivalent rates in Orion were as much as 60% lower than previous observations(9). Furthermore, a change in orientation of the spacecraft during the proton-belt transit resulted in a reduction of radiation dose rates of around 50%. These measurements validate the Orion for future crewed exploration and inform future human spaceflight mission design.