Article

Astronaut's Organ Doses Inferred from Measurements in a Human Phantom Outside the International Space Station

G. ReitzGerman Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany. [email protected]Thomas BergeraGerman Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany;P. BilskicInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow, Poland;R. FaciusaGerman Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany;Michael HajekdAtomic Institute of the Austrian Universities, Vienna, Austria;Vladislav PetrovbInstitute for Biomedical Problems, Moscow, Russian Federation;Monika PuchalskacInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow, Poland;D. ZhoumNASA Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, Texas;Johannes BossleraGerman Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany;Y. AkatovbInstitute for Biomedical Problems, Moscow, Russian Federation;Vyacheslav ShurshakovbInstitute for Biomedical Problems, Moscow, Russian Federation;P. OlkocInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow, Poland;M. PtaszkiewiczcInstitute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow, Poland;Robert BergmanndAtomic Institute of the Austrian Universities, Vienna, Austria;M. FuggerdAtomic Institute of the Austrian Universities, Vienna, Austria;N. VanadAtomic Institute of the Austrian Universities, Vienna, Austria;R. BeaujeaneChristian-Albrechts Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany;Söenke BurmeistereChristian-Albrechts Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany;D. T. BartlettfHealth Protection Agency, Chilton, United Kingdom;L.G. HagerfHealth Protection Agency, Chilton, United Kingdom;J. PálfalvigAtomic Energy Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary;Julianna SzabógAtomic Energy Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary;D. O’SullivanhDublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, Ireland;Hisashi KitamuraiNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan;Yukio UchihoriiNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan;N. YasudaiNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan;Aiko NagamatsujJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan;Hiroko TawarakHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba, Japan;E. R. BentonlOklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma;Ramona GazalOklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma;Stephen McKeeverlOklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma;Gabriel O. SawakuchilOklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma;E.G. YukiharalOklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma;Francis A. CucinottamNASA Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, Texas;E. SemonesmNASA Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, Texas;N. ZappmNASA Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, Texas;J. MilleroLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CaliforniaJan DettmannpEuropean Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Radiation Researchjournal2009en

ABI

Abstract

Reitz, G., Berger, T., Bilski, P., Facius, R., Hajek, M., Petrov, V., Puchalska, M., Zhou, D., Bossler, J., Akatov, Y., Shurshakov, V., Olko, P., Ptaszkiewicz, M., Bergmann, R., Fugger, M., Vana, N., Beaujean, R., Burmeister, S., Bartlett, D., Hager, L., Pálfalvi, J., Szabó, J., O'Sullivan, D., Kitamura, H., Uchihori, Y., Yasuda, N., Nagamatsu, A., Tawara, H., Benton, E., Gaza, R., McKeever, S., Sawakuchi, G., Yukihara, E., Cucinotta, F., Semones, E., Zapp, N., Miller, J. and Dettmann, J. Astronaut's Organ Doses Inferred from Measurements in a Human Phantom Outside the International Space Station. Radiat. Res. 171, 225–235 (2009).Space radiation hazards are recognized as a key concern for human space flight. For long-term interplanetary missions, they constitute a potentially limiting factor since current protection limits for low-Earth orbit missions may be approached or even exceeded. In such a situation, an accurate risk assessment requires knowledge of equivalent doses in critical radiosensitive organs rather than only skin doses or ambient doses from area monitoring. To achieve this, the MATROSHKA experiment uses a human phantom torso equipped with dedicated detector systems. We measured for the first time the doses from the diverse components of ionizing space radiation at the surface and at different locations inside the phantom positioned outside the International Space Station, thereby simulating an extravehicular activity of an astronaut. The relationships between the skin and organ absorbed doses obtained in such an exposure show a steep gradient between the doses in the uppermost layer of the skin and the deep organs with a ratio close to 20. This decrease due to the body self-shielding and a concomitant increase of the radiation quality factor by 1.7 highlight the complexities of an adequate dosimetry of space radiation. The depth-dose distributions established by MATROSHKA serve as benchmarks for space radiation models and radiation transport calculations that are needed for mission planning.

Topics

Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry Radiation Dose and Imaging Effects of Radiation Exposure

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1667/rr1559.1

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Cited by 042 references

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