Phantom astronaut for safer space flight
Astronauts working and living in space are exposed to cosmic radiation levels that greatly exceed those on the ground. The best way to quantify the risk posed is to measure doses to human internal organs, which are much more sensitive to radiation than the skin. This is achieved by placing radiation detectors inside a simulated human body known as a ‘phantom’. The MATROSHKA phantom developed by the European Space Agency was equipped with 6 000 radiation detectors to assess the exposure of a simulated astronaut’s torso to cosmic radiation. The phantom was sent to the International Space Station and placed outside the Russian Service Module (Zvezda) to simulate a long-duration spacewalk. Data from the phantom was retrieved and examined by the EU-funded project HAMLET (Human model MATROSHKA for radiation exposure determination of astronauts), which brought together leading European scientists in the field of space dosimetry. Researchers focused on the detailed analysis, compilation and comparison of the data generated by the MATROSHKA experiment to develop a three-dimensional model of the dose distribution within the human body. This simulated both an astronaut’s space work and an astronaut working in different locations in a space station. The developed dose-distribution model was verified and benchmarked using sophisticated Monte Carlo radiation transport codes. In addition, an extensive ground-based programme was conducted at heavy-ion facilities around the world to determine the response and characteristics of the radiation detectors used for the MATROSHKA project HAMLET resulted in a unique data set that is now available to the wider scientific community. It enabled scientists to determine the effective dose to personnel both in and outside the space station and improved radiation risk assessment for long-duration space flights. The data will also be used to enhance shielding structures in future space missions.
Keywords
Phantom astronaut, space flight, cosmic radiation, MATROSHKA, HAMLET
