The natural human exploratory urge is driving humankind to discover the universe and
plan future human space missions to distant objects. Regarding the radiation exposures
during exploration of space, the radiation environment, which significantly differs from
the radiation environment on Earth, is one of the main hazards in space. The Van-Allen
radiation belts, the Galactic Cosmic Rays and the Solar Particle Events significantly
contribute to the increased radiation exposure in space compared to Earth. It is therefore
important to determine the radiation field in respect of solar activity, orbit parameters
and different shielding conditions. The “DOSe distribution inside the ISS” (DOSIS)
experiment, under the lead of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is an approach to
measure the spatial and temporal radiation distribution inside the Columbus laboratory
on-board the International Space Station (ISS). Remarkable about the DOSIS experiment
is the enabling of a comparison of data measured by different institutions with
different measurement methods and materials. For the first time twelve institutes compared
radiation measurement results for a defined experiment condition. Active and
passive dosimeters distributed at eleven positions inside the Columbus laboratory measured
the radiation field and the radiation distribution inside Columbus for two different
periods in the years 2009 and 2010. The two “DOSimetric TELescopes” (DOSTEL)
belong to the active dosimeters. Thermoluminescence detectors (TLD) and “plastic nuclear
track etch” detectors (CR-39) were used as passive dosimeters, to determine a
complete coverage of the entire Liner Energy Transfer (LET) range. The comparison of
DLR data, as well as the comparison with data provided by other participating groups
for both experiment periods consistently showed good agreements. A decrease of daily
absorbed dose rates from experiment phase I to II due to the increasing solar activity
was observed. A spatial dose distribution inside the Columbus module based on different
shielding conditions could be seen as well. The lowest daily absorbed dose rates
were observed at the “European Drawer Rack” (EDR), while the daily absorbed dose
rates increased up to 36%, which were measured at the “Human Research Facility 2”
(HRF-2). These results can be used for further benchmarking and development of radiation
transport codes and a better risk estimation in order to enable long duration space
mission
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