ADIS-type Charged Particle Spectrometer for Manned Space Radiation Dosimetry, Phase I

As manned missions to the moon and eventually Mars gain momentum, astronaut crews will be sent back to the deepest parts of space humans have ever traveled, and will continue deeper into space than ever before. Once outside the protection of the Earth's magnetic field, astronauts become fully exposed to an array of dangerous charged particles, both cosmic rays (CRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). There exists a need to provide a comprehensive picture of the energetic charged particle environment within manned space vehicles to accurately measure and mitigate the crew's exposure to these hazardous radiations. Along with our partner, the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Aurora Flight Sciences proposes to develop a compact (low volume, mass and power) charged particle spectrometer for manned space vehicles based on heritage from similar spaceflight telescopes using Si solid state detectors and scintillators. The proposed instrument will be capable of detecting and identifying charged particles with single element resolution, performing on-board, real-time data reduction and providing rate and composition data over five to seven approximately logarithmically spaced energy intervals corresponding to ~10-200 MeV for protons, with integral measurements for higher energies. More »