Objective
Long-term space missions outside the Earth's magnetosphere provide unique opportunities for studies of space and planets of the solar system. At present, numerous automatic spacecraft are designed and built for these purposes. However, constant upgrading of space engineering technology (especially onboard electronics) and future interplanetary projects, including piloted ones (mission to Mars), require constant efforts from the spacecraft designers to increase spacecraft reliability.
Significant attention in this field is directed to the radiation safety of astronauts and radiation tolerance of the spacecraft, which is continually exposed to the impact of particle fluxes with a complex elemental and energy composition.
The basis for solving these problems is the capability to predict the radiation conditions for a spacecraft during a specified time of the mission, and hazardous changes in the characteristics of the spacecraft technical systems and the astronaut organism, caused by radiation effect accumulation during the mission. In general, a complex approach is required for such predictions. It should involve the use of quantitative regularities and mathematical models, based on theoretical and experimental research in space physics, nuclear physics, radiation physics of solid state and semiconductors, radiobiology.
More complete and prompt use of the models is achieved by means of special information systems, incorporating the computer codes of these models. The models and information systems are constantly upgraded. However the existence of numerous competing models makes it necessary to look for ways of concording and unifying them (especially when this concerns international space projects). All the above mentioned issues have been taken into account in the current project.
The project objectives are:
to study the radiation conditions and the radiation effects onboard interplanetary spacecraft, depending on space-time coordinates and space mission duration;
to develop the technique for spacecraft radiation hazard prediction in interplanetary space.
As a result should be simulated and investigated in interplanetary space (with account for planned future missions):
the fluxes of galactic and solar cosmic rays, depending on solar activity variations;
the particle elemental composition and energy spectra of cosmic ray behind shielding;
the absorbed energy (dose) in matter under the impact of particle fluxes with complex elemental and energy spectra;
a occurrence of single event upsets in integrated circuits.
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
Data not availableCoordinator
2200AG Noordwijk
Netherlands