M Larosa

Heavy-Ion Anisotropy Measured by ALTEA in the International Space Station

The uneven shielding of the International Space Station from the vessel hull, racks and experiments produces a modulation of the internal radiation environment. A detailed knowledge of this environment, and therefore of the Stations shielding effectiveness, is mandatory for an accurate assessment of radiation risk. We present here the first 3D measurements of the Stations radiation environment, discriminating particle trajectories and LET, made possible using the detection capability of the ALTEA-space detector. We provide evidence for a strong (factor ≈ 3) anisotropy in the inner integral LET for high-LET particles (LET > 50 keV/µm) showing a minimum along the longitudinal station axis (most shielded) and a maximum normal to it. Integrating over all measured LETs, the anisotropy is strongly reduced, showing that unstopped light ions plus the fragments produced by heavier ions approximately maintain flux/LET isotropy. This suggests that, while changing the quality of radiation, the extra shielding along the station main axis is not producing a benefit in terms of total LET. These features should be taken into account (1) when measuring radiation with detectors that cannot distinguish the direction of the impinging radiation or that are unidirectional, (2) when planning radiation biology experiments on the ISS, and (3) when simulating the space radiation environment for experiments on the ground. A novel analysis technique that fully exploits the ability to retrieve the angular distribution of the radiation is also presented as well as the angular particle flux and LET characteristic of three geomagnetic zones measured during 2009 by the ALTEA-space detector. This technique is applied to the ALTEA-space detector, but a wider applicability to other detectors is suggested.

Relative nuclear abundance from C to Fe and integrated flux inside the Russian part of the ISS with the Sileye-3/Alteino experiment

In this work we present data from the Sileye-3/Alteino detector on board the International Space Station (ISS), which was gathered following a recalibration after several years in orbit. We also measure the relative nuclei abundance and integratedflux,whichwerenormalizedtothesolarmodulationvaluesofAugust 2007. The measurements were made at different locations of the Russian part of the ISS. The relative nuclear abundances of C to Fe in relation to C, in an energyrangeabove � 60MeV/n,showshighlevelsofoddZparticlesinsidethe ISS and an under-abundance of C and O compared with the galactic spectrum, as presented by Simpson in 1983. In addition, the values of the integrated flux varies primarily according to location and detector orientation. An additional polyethylene shield also reduces the flux, although in a lower amount than changes in the orientation of the telescope. Data were taken as part of the ESA ALTCRISS project from late 2005 through to 2007.

Performances of Kevlar and Polyethylene as radiation shielding on-board the International Space Station in high latitude radiation environment

Passive radiation shielding is a mandatory element in the design of an integrated solution to mitigate the effects of radiation during long deep space voyages for human exploration. Understanding and exploiting the characteristics of materials suitable for radiation shielding in space flights is, therefore, of primary importance. We present here the results of the first space-test on Kevlar and Polyethylene radiation shielding capabilities including direct measurements of the background baseline (no shield). Measurements are performed on-board of the International Space Station (Columbus modulus) during the ALTEA-shield ESA sponsored program. For the first time the shielding capability of such materials has been tested in a radiation environment similar to the deep-space one, thanks to the feature of the ALTEA system, which allows to select only high latitude orbital tracts of the International Space Station. Polyethylene is widely used for radiation shielding in space and therefore it is an excellent benchmark material to be used in comparative investigations. In this work we show that Kevlar has radiation shielding performances comparable to the Polyethylene ones, reaching a dose rate reduction of 32 ± 2% and a dose equivalent rate reduction of 55 ± 4% (for a shield of 10 g/cm2).

Summary of recent results obtained by the Sileye-3/Alteino detector in the Russian part of the International Space Station as part of the ALTCRISS project

The Sileye3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the investigation of the light flash phenomenon and particle composition of the cosmic ray spectrum inside the ISS. The particle detector is a silicon telescope consisting of eight planes, each divided into 32 strips. Data acquisition was initiated in 2002 in the Russian Pirs module. The data on nuclei from C to Fe in the energy range above about 60 MeV/n presented here were taken as part of the ESA Altcriss project [ 1] from late 2005 through 2007. Here we report on LET, from different locations and orientations, in both the Pirs and Zvezda modules. Taking solar modulation into account the results are in agreement with ALTEA measurements from USLab [ 2]. To convert the energy deposition in Si to the equivalent in water, the logarithmic relation between LET in Si and water adopted from [ 3]. In Fig. 1, the LET spectra in water for Alteino and ALTEA are compared with DOSTEL spectrum from 2001 [ 4], and we see a good overall agreement. We are currently in the process of preparing a detailed paper on the dose and dose equivalent rates in different places inside the Zvezda and Pirs modules and a novel analysis of the contribution to the different doses as a function of strip hit multiplicity.Fig. 1. LET spectra in water from Alteino (red triangle), ALTEA (black diamond) [ 2], DOSTEL 2001 (solid line) [ 4].

The ALTEA experiment onboard the International Space Station

The knowledge of the composition of the radiation environment is an important information for all the radiation safety issues needed for the planning of future long manned space missions. The ALTEA detector is on board the International Space Station since July 2006 and during this period it has performed a detailed measurement of the radiation environment. In this paper we present a summary of past measures and results.