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Space radiation measurements during the Artemis I lunar mission

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
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  1. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States)
  2. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Leidos, Houston, TX (United States). Space Exploration and Mission Operations
  3. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne (Germany)
  4. Aboa Space Research Oy (ASRO), Turku (Finland)
  5. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Leidos, Houston, TX (United States). Space Exploration and Mission Operations
  6. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Leidos, Houston, TX (United States). Space Exploration and Mission Operations; Axiom Space, Houston, TX (United States)
  7. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); KBR, Houston, TX (United States)
  8. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS (United States)
  9. European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk (Netherlands). European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
  10. Oceaneering Space Systems, Houston, TX (United States)
  11. StemRad Inc., Tampa, FL (United States)
  12. Leidos, Houston, TX (United States). Space Exploration and Mission Operations
  13. Lockheed Martin Space, Houston, TX (United States)
  14. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Aerospace Corp., Houston, TX (United States)
  15. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Leidos, Houston, TX (United States). Space Exploration and Mission Operations; Aerospace Corp., Houston, TX (United States)
  16. StemRad Ltd., Tel Aviv (Israel)
  17. Univ. of Houston, TX (United States)
  18. CACI, Houston, TX (United States)
  19. European Space Agency (ESA), Cologne (Germany). European Astronaut Centre (EAC)
  20. StemRad Ltd., Tel Aviv (Israel); Advanced Medical Physics, Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
  21. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Houston, TX (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Space radiation is a notable hazard for long-duration human spaceflight. Associated risks include cancer, cataracts, degenerative diseases and tissue reactions from large, acute exposures. Space radiation originates from diverse sources, including galactic cosmic rays, trapped-particle (Van Allen) belts5 and solar-particle events. 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 and lightly shielded interplanetary robotic probes such as Mars Science Laboratory and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Limited data from the Apollo missions and ground measurements with substantial caveats are also available. 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. 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.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
European Space Agency (ESA); German Aerospace Center (DLR); Israel Space Agency (ISA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
2447574
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--23-23002
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 8032 Vol. 634; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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