6 research outputs found
Orion EM-1 Internal Environment Characterization: The Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment
Presentation Outline: Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV); Radiation Vest for Astronauts - AstroRad; ISS (International Space Station) Matroshka; Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) on Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1)
MARE International Payload aboard Orion EM-1: Status Update for 23rd WRMISS
The natural ionizing radiation environment present in space poses risks to human
exploration that require mitigation.Spacecraft designed for Exploration beyond Earth orbit
(BEO) do not benefit from the Earth’s magnetosphere protection and are subject to stricter
radiation design requirements than their low Earth orbit (LEO) counterparts. Orion is NASA’s
nextgeneration crewed spacecraft, developed specifically for Exploration missions. [...
MATROSHKA ASTRORAD RADIATION EXPERIMENT (MARE) ON THE ORION EM-1 FLIGHT: HOW TO TACKLE THE HAZARD OF RADIATION FOR EXPLORATION MISSIONS
NASA’s Human Research Program has organized and summarized five classifications of hazards for long
duration human exploration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). These five hazards are 1) radiation, 2)
isolation, 3) distance, 4) gravity fields and 5) the hostile/close environment inside the spacecraft. Leaving LEO
and traveling in free space will expose the astronauts to a much harsher radiation environment than currently on
board the International Space Station (ISS). The relevant radiation risks for these upcoming exploration
missions, to the Moon, near Earth Asteroids and in the end to Mars need to be identified and dealt with to enable
safe and secure human exploration. Within this context Orion, being NASA´s next generation spacecraft
designed for human exploration of the solar systems will be the home of the next generation of astronauts. The
upcoming Orion Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1), being an unmanned test flight scheduled for 2020 venturing
beyond LEO and into cislunar space offers the unique opportunity to house a variety of secondary research
payloads to tackle the problem of radiation and radiation protection. One of these payloads is the Matroshka
AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), a science payload proposed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and approved by NASA and manifested for flight aboard EM-1 in 2017.
MARE will consist of two anthropomorphic female phantoms (torsos), named Helga and Zohar, located inside
the Orion cabin at seat positions 3 and 4. Each of the phantoms will be equipped with a variety of active and
passive radiation detectors to determine the skin and organ doses during this first flight beyond LEO since
almost 50 years. In addition one of the phantoms (Zohar) will be equipped with a novel radiation protection vest
(AstroRad) developed in cooperation between StemRad Ltd, Israel and Lockheed Martin. An ergonomic
evaluation of AstroRad is planned onboard ISS as early as 2019. With this flight configuration Helga will act as
the reference phantom while the protection properties of the AstroRad vest will be tested with Zohar. MARE is
designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the radiation environment beyond Earth orbit specific to the Orion
vehicle and internal to human body analogs. This data set will inform about expected exposures, enable better
planning by validating the operational toolsets used to predict crew radiation exposure risk on future Orion
missions, and evaluate a potential countermeasure. MARE leverages the expertise and international collaboration
heritage of the ISS Matroshka experiments, and expands it further by adding the mitigation component of the
AstroRad shield. MARE represents a demonstration of science research opportunities aboard NASA’s next
generation space exploration vehicle. The presentation will provide an overview of the current status of the
experiment hardware design, presenting the first data on the special developed new active radiation detectors
included in MARE and provide insights in the international team working together to ensure safe human travels
for exploration missions