G. Furano

In-flight performance of SilEye-2 experiment and cosmic ray abundances inside the Mir space station

Cosmic ray measurements performed with the instrument SilEye-2 on the Mir space station are presented. SilEye-2 is a silicon detector telescope used to study the causes of the light flashes perceived by astronauts. As a stand-alone device, it monitors the short- and long-term radiation composition inside Mir. The cosmic ray detector consists of an array of six active silicon strip detectors which allow nuclear identification of cosmic rays up to iron. The device was operational for more than 1000 h in the years 1998–2000, also measuring several solar particle events. In this work we present the in-flight performance of the instrument and nuclear abundance data from boron to silicon above � 150 MeV n −1 inside Mir.

Eye light flashes on the mir space station

The phenomenon of light flashes (LF) in eyes for people in space has been investigated onboard Mir. Data on particles hitting the eye have been collected with the SilEye detectors, and correlated with human observations. It is found that a nucleus in the radiation environment of Mir has roughly a 1% probability to cause an LF, whereas the proton probability is almost three orders of magnitude less. As a function of LET, the LF probability increases above 10 keV/micrometer, reaching about 5% at around 50 keV/micrometer.

The PAMELA experiment on satellite and its capability in cosmic rays measurements.

The PAMELA equipment will be assembled in 2001 and installed on board the Russian satellite Resurs. PAMELA is conceived mainly to study the antiproton and positron fluxes in cosmic rays up to high ...

The PAMELA experiment in space

We provide in this paper a status report of the space experiment PAMELA. PAMELA aims primarily to measure the flux of antiparticles, namely antiprotons and positrons, in cosmic rays with unpreceden ...

In-Orbit Performance of the Space Telescope NINA and Galactic Cosmic-Ray Flux Measurements

The NINA apparatus, on board the Russian satellite Resurs-01 No. 4, has been in polar orbit since 1998 July 10, at an altitude of 840 km. Its main scienti—c task is to study the Galactic, solar, and anomalous components of cosmic rays in the energy interval 10¨200 MeV nucleon~1. In this paper we present a description of the instrument and its basic operating modes. Measurements of Galactic cosmic-ray spectra will also be shown.

Study of cosmic rays and light flashes on board Space Station MIR: The SilEye experiment

The SilEye experiment aims to study the cause and processes related to the anomalous Light Flashes (LF) perceived by astronauts in orbit and their relation with Cosmic Rays. These observations will be also useful in the study of the long duration manned space flight environment. Two PC-driven silicon detector telescopes have been built and placed aboard Space Station MIR. SilEye-1 was launched in 1995 and provided particles track and LF information; the data gathered indicate a linear dependence of FLF(Hz) ( 4 2) 10(3) 5.3 1.7 10(4) Fpart(Hz) if South Atlantic Anomaly fluxes are not included. Even though higher statistic is required, this is an indication that heavy ion interactions with the eye are the main LF cause. To improve quality and quantity of measurements, a second apparatus, SilEye-2, was placed on MIR in 1997, and started work from August 1998. This instrument provides energetic information, which allows nuclear identification in selected energy ranges; we present preliminary measurements of the radiation field inside MIR performed with SilEye-2 detector in June 1998.

About Separation of Hadron and Electromagnetic Cascades in the Pamela Calorimeter

Results of calibration of the PAMELA instrument at the CERN facilities are discussed. In September, 2003, the calibration of the Neutron Detector together with the Calorimeter was performed with th ...

Study of the radiation environment on MIR space station with SILEYE-2 experiment.

In this work we present preliminary results of nuclear composition measurements on board space station MIR obtained with SILEYE-2 particle telescope. SILEYE-2 was placed on MIR in 1997 and has been working since then. It consists of an array of 6 active silicon strip detectors which allow nuclear and energetic identification of cosmic rays in the energy range between approximately 30 and 200 MeV/n. The device is attached to an helmet and connected to an eye mask which shields the cosmonaut eyes from light and allow studies of the Light Flashes (LF) phenomenon. In addition to the study of the causes of LF, the device is used to perform real time long term radiation environment monitoring inside the MIR, performing measurements in solar quiet and active days.

Light Isotope Abundances in Solar Energetic Particles Measured by the Space Instrument NINA

This article reports nine solar energetic particle (SEP) events detected by the New Instrument for Nuclear Analysis (NINA) between 1998 October and 1999 April. NINA is a silicon-based particle detector mounted on board the Russian satellite Resurs-01-4, which has flown at an altitude of about 800 km in polar inclination since 1998 July. For every solar event, the power-law 4He spectrum across the energy interval 10-50 MeV nucleon-1 was reconstructed and spectral indexes, γ, from 1.8 to 6.8 extracted. Data of 3He and 4He were used to determine the 3He/4He ratio, which for some SEP events indicated an enrichment in 3He. For the 1998 November 7 event, the ratio reached a maximum value of 0.33 ± 0.06, with spectral indexes of γ = 2.5 ± 0.6 and γ = 3.7 ± 0.3 for 3He and 4He, respectively. The 3He/4He ratio averaged over the remaining events was 0.011 ± 0.004. For all events, a deuterium-to-proton ratio was estimated. An upper limit on the average value over all events was 2H/1H < 4 × 10-5 across the energy interval 9-12 MeV nucleon-1. Upper limits on the 3H/1H counting ratio for all events were determined. For the 1998 November 14 SEP event, the high flux of heavy particles detected made it possible to reconstruct the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen flux.

Launch in orbit of the telescope NINA for cosmic ray observations: preliminary results

On July the 10th, 1998 the telescope NINA was launched in space on board the Russian satellite Resurs-01 n.4. The scientific task of the mission is the study of the galactic, solar and anomalous components of the cosmic rays in the energy interval 10–200 MeV/n for contained particles. The core of NINA is a segmented silicon detector mounted onto the satellite so to point to the zenith. In this paper we report about the cosmic ray measurements performed by the telescope during its first 6 months of operation.