Nuclear data needs for the space exploration initiative

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58113-7_197· OSTI ID:5635679

Howe, S D; Auchampaugh, G

On July 20, 1989, the President of the United States announced a new direction for the US Space Program. The new Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) is intended to emplace a permanent base on the Lunar surface and a manned outpost on the Mars surface by 2019. In order to achieve this ambitious challenge, new, innovative and robust technologies will have to be developed to support crew operations. Nuclear power and propulsion have been recognized as technologies that are at least mission enhancing and, in some scenarios, mission enabling. Because of the extreme operating conditions present in a nuclear rocket core, accurate modeling of the rocket will require cross section data sets which do not currently exist. In order to successfully achieve the goals of the SEI, major obstacles inherent in long duration space travel will have to be overcome. One of these obstacles is the radiation environment to which the astronauts will be exposed. In general, an unshielded crew will be exposed to roughly one REM per week in free space. For missions to Mars, the total dose could exceed more than one-half the total allowed lifetime level. Shielding of the crew may be possible, but accurate assessments of shield composition and thickness are critical if shield masses are to be kept at acceptable levels. In addition, the entire ship design may be altered by the differential neutron production by heavy ions (Galactic Cosmic Rays) incident on ship structures. The components of the radiation environment, current modeling capability and envisioned experiments will be discussed.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5635679
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-91-1595; CONF-910503--13; ON: DE91013231
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220100 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Theory & Calculation
220800 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Propulsion Reactors
640101 -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Cosmic Radiation
654000* -- Radiation & Shielding Physics
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
COSMIC RADIATION
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DESIGN
DOSES
INFORMATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LUNA SPACE PROBES
MARS SPACE PROBES
MOBILE REACTORS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
NUCLEAR DATA COLLECTIONS
POWER REACTORS
PROPULSION REACTORS
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIATIONS
REACTORS
SHIELDS
SPACE FLIGHT
SPACE POWER REACTORS
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
SPACE VEHICLES
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
VEHICLES