Investigation of radiation environment and Light Flash phenomenon on board manned space stations with silicon detector telescopes

In this work we review measurements on cosmic-ray abundances and radiation environment on board Mir (1995-2000) and International (2002-2008) Space Stations with active silicon detector telescopes. Additional scientific topics goals involve the investigation of the Light Flash Phenomenon and its relation with nuclear fluence. Characteristics of the detectors employed (Sileye-1, Sileye-2, Sileye-3/Alteino, Altea) and some results are presented

The JEM-EUSO experiment

JEM-EUSO is a space-borne cosmic ray experiment devoted to the study of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). It will be placed with H2 transfer vehicle on the Japanese Experiment Module/Exposure Facility (JEM/EF) of the International Space Station in the mid-2010. The principle of operation is the observation in the dark side of the Earth of fluorescence and Cherenkov light emitted by UHECR showers in the atmosphere. During its 5 years of planned operation it is expected to detect at least 1000 events with energy above 7 × 1019 eV assuming Greisen Zatsepin Kuzmin (GZK) suppression spectrum, localizing possible sources and the relative spectrum

Detection of the high energy component of Jovian electrons in Low Earth Orbit with the PAMELA experiment

The PAMELA experiment is devoted to the study of cosmic rays in Low Earth Orbit with an apparatus optimized to perform a precise determination of the galactic antimatter component of c.r. It is constituted by a number of detectors built around a permanent magnet spectrometer. PAMELA was launched in space on June 15th 2006 on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite for a mission duration of three years. The characteristics of the detectors, the long lifetime and the orbit of the satellite, will allow to address several aspects of cosmic-ray physics. In this work we discuss the observational capabilities of PAMELA to detect the electron component above 50 MeV. The magnetic spectrometer allows a detailed measurement of the energy spectrum of electrons of galactic and Jovian origin. Long term measurements and correlations with Earth-Jupiter 13 months synodic period will allow to separate these two contributions and to measure the primary electron Jovian component, dominant in the 50-70 MeV energy range. With this technique it will also be possible to study the contribution to the electron spectrum of Jovian e- reaccelerated up to 2 GeV at the Solar Wind Termination Shock.Comment: On behalf of PAMELA collaboration. Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Researc

The PAMELA experiment: A space-borne observatory for heliospheric phenomena

Abstract PAMELA is a multi-purpose apparatus composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, time-of-flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a silicon–tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. The device was put into orbit on June 15th 2006 in a pressurized container on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite. The satellite is flying along a high inclination (70°), low Earth orbit (350–600 km), allowing to perform measurements in different points and conditions of the geomagnetosphere. PAMELA main goal is a precise measurement of the antimatter ( p ¯ 80 MeV–190 GeV, e + 50 MeV–270 GeV) and matter (p 80–700 GeV, e − 50 MeV–400 GeV) component of the galactic cosmic rays. In this paper we focus on the capabilites of observations of heliospheric cosmic rays: trapped and semi-trapped particles in the proton and electron belts, solar particle events, Jovian electrons will be studied in the three years of expected mission

Data processing and distribution in the PAMELA experiment

Abstract YODA is a semi-automated data handling and analysis system for the PAMELA space experiment. The core of the routines have been developed to process a stream of raw data downlinked from the Resurs DK1 satellite (housing PAMELA) to the ground station in Moscow. Raw data consist of scientific data and engineering information. Housekeeping information are analyzed in a short time from download ( ≃ hours ) in order to monitor the status of the experiment and for the mission planning. A prototype for the data visualization runs on an APACHE TOMCAT web application server, providing an off-line analysis tool using a browser and part of code for the system maintenance. A quicklook system with GUI interface is used for operator monitoring and fast macrocommand issuing. On a longer timescale scientific data are analyzed, calibrations performed and the database adjourned. The data storage core is composed of CERN's ROOT files structure and MySQL as a relational database. YODA++ is currently being used in the integration and testing of ground PAMELA data