Overview of energetic particle hazards during prospective manned missions to Mars
McKenna-Lawlor, Susan and Gonçalves, P. and Keating, A. and Reitz, G. and Matthiä, D. (2011) Overview of energetic particle hazards during prospective manned missions to Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 63-64, pp. 123-132. Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2011.06.017.
Full text not available from this repository.
A scenario for an initial manned mission to Mars involves transits through the Van Allen Radiation Belts, a 30 day ‘short surface stay’ and a 400 day Cruise Phase (to/from the planet). The contribution to the total dose incurred through transiting the belts is relatively small and manageable. Estimates of the particle radiation hazard incurred during a 30 day stay on the surface (using ESA's Mars Energetic Radiation Environment Models dMEREM and e MEREM) indicate that the dose is not expected to be particularly challenging health-wise due to the shielding effect provided by the Martian atmosphere and the body of the planet. This is in accord with estimations obtained using the Langley HZETRN code. Estimates of GCR exposure in free space during the minimum phase of Solar Cycle 23 determined using the CREME2009 model are in reasonable agreement with published results obtained using HZETRN (which they exceed by about 10%). The Cruise Phase poses a significant radiation problem due to the cumulative effects of isotropic Galactic Cosmic Radiation over 400 days. The occurrence during this period of a large Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) event, especially if it has a hard energy spectrum, could be catastrophic health wise to the crew. Such particle events are rare but they are not currently predictable. An overview of mitigating strategies currently under development to meet the radiation challenge is provided and it is shown that the health problem posed by energetic particle radiation is presently unresolved.
|Title:||Overview of energetic particle hazards during prospective manned missions to Mars|
|Journal or Publication Title:||Planetary and Space Science|
|In Open Access:||No|
|In ISI Web of Science:||Yes|
|Page Range:||pp. 123-132|
|Keywords:||Mars, Galactic cosmic radiation, Solar energetic particles, Manned missions|
|HGF - Research field:||Aeronautics, Space and Transport|
|HGF - Program:||Raumfahrt|
|HGF - Program Themes:||R FR - Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen|
|DLR - Research area:||Raumfahrt|
|DLR - Program:||R FR - Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen|
|DLR - Research theme (Project):||R - Vorhaben Strahlenbiologie|
|Institutes and Institutions:||Institute of Aerospace Medicine > Radiation Biology|
|Deposited By:||Kerstin Kopp|
|Deposited On:||06 Dec 2011 12:40|
|Last Modified:||26 Mar 2013 13:33|
Repository Staff Only: item control page