Radiation Exposure of an Astronaut subject to Various Space Radiation Environments and Shielding Conditions

Abstract

Radiation exposures of an astronaut during the space travels to the International Space Station(ISS) of the Soyuz and the Moon of the Apollo, were calculated considering the altitude, boarding time, period of stay, kinds of spaceships and space suits. The calculated radiation exposures decrease dramatically according to the thickness of the shielding by the wall of the spaceships and by the space suits. For the space travel to the ISS of Soyuz at Low Earth orbit, the thickness of the spaceship required to optimally reduce the radiation exposure is 3 cm. For the Extravehicle Mobility Unit(EMU) the exposures are minimized at 4 cm of the aluminized Mylar and 5 cm of the Demron, respectively. The aluminized Mylar showed better radiation shielding than the Demron which contains the high Z materials. The radiation exposures of an astronaut were 4.2×10-6 Sv for the ISS travel and 4.3×10-5 Sv for the Moon explore. The high concentration of the high energy proton flux at the surface of the Moon results in high radiation exposure. The calculation scheme and results of this study can be used in the design of the shielding performance of a spaceship and space suits.