The spacecraft that will return us to the Moon passes the radiation test on its maiden voyage

2024-09-18 18:02:42

On December 11, 2022, the unmanned Artemis I mission landed in the Pacific after 25 days of travel and 2.2 million kilometers around the Moon. The mission is a fundamental step for humans to return to a natural satellite, expected in 2026, while also working to test the behavior of the Orion capsule, where the astronauts will fly, when exposed to space radiation. To do this, the ship has placed many sensors inside, some of them inside the two mannequins, Helga and Zohar. The first data collected during the trip, published this Wednesday in the magazine ‘Creation’ by a team from the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA, suggests that the health of members of the future flesh and blood will not be affected by high-energy particles that cross space .

The measurement results show that the radiation exposure inside Orion varies significantly depending on the location of the detector, and that the most protected areas provide four times more protection than the least protected, which the researchers say “confirms the pattern of the plane.” Radiation exposure from massive solar particle events in the most protected area of ​​the capsule is kept below 150 millisieverts, a safe level to avoid severe radiation sickness.

The orientation of the spacecraft also affects radiation exposure; A 90 degree rotation during Orion’s path through the inner Van Allen belt – the magnetic bands that surround our planet thousands of kilometers above our heads – radiation exposure is reduced by 50%, providing “valuable information for future mission designs .

The science team concluded that radiation exposure on future Artemis missions is unlikely to exceed NASA’s limits for astronauts, “confirming Orion’s suitability for missions”.

According to reports, ESA contributed five mobile dosimeters placed in various positions on Orion to measure radiation; The technology is based on a prototype that was tested by European astronauts Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet on the International Space Station (ISS) during their Iriss and Proxima missions, and a similar system is under development for use on the portal , the next station that will orbit the Moon.

Astronaut safety

Researchers on the joint international team continue to analyze data extracted from radiation measurements taken during the 25 days of the Artemis I flight, including comparing the radiation exposure between the Helga ghosts, which flew safely, and Zohar, wearing a protective vest. “This data will be essential to ensure the safety of astronauts on future Artemis missions,” the team explained in a statement.

“The Artemis I mission represents an important step in advancing our understanding of how space evolution affects the safety of future human missions to the Moon. With radiation monitors placed throughout the Orion capsule, we collect valuable information about how space radiation interacts with flight safety, the types of radiation that enter the human body, and the areas within Orion’s interior. offers the greatest protection. This knowledge is useful because it will allow us to accurately estimate the radiation exposure of ESA astronauts before their journey into deep space, thus ensuring their safety on missions to the Moon and beyond,” Sergi Vaquer Araujo, head of the Space Medicine team said.