Effects of ionizing radiation in spaceflight

The Phantom Torso, as seen here in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), is designed to measure the effects of radiation on organs inside the body by using a torso that is similar to those used to train radiologists on Earth. The torso is equivalent in height and weight to an average adult male. It contains radiation detectors that will measure, in real-time, how much radiation the brain, thyroid, stomach, colon, and heart and lung area receive on a daily basis. The data will be used to determine how the body reacts to and shields its internal organs from radiation, which will be important for longer duration space flights.

Astronauts are exposed to approximately 72 millisieverts (mSv) while on six-month-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Longer 3-year missions to Mars, however, have the potential to expose astronauts to radiation in excess of 1,000 mSv. Without the protection provided by Earth's magnetic field, the rate of exposure is dramatically increased. [1][2][failed verification] The risk of cancer caused by ionizing radiation is well documented at radiation doses beginning at 100 mSv and above.[1][3][4]

Related radiological effect studies have shown that survivors of the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear reactor workers and patients who have undergone therapeutic radiation treatments have received low-linear energy transfer (LET) radiation (x-rays and gamma rays) doses in the same 50-2,000 mSv range.[5]

  1. ^ a b Cucinotta, FA; Durante, M (2006). "Cancer risk from exposure to galactic cosmic rays: implications for space exploration by human beings" (PDF). Lancet Oncol. 7 (5): 431–435. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(06)70695-7. PMID 16648048.
  2. ^ Cucinotta, FA; Kim, MH; Willingham, V; George, KA (July 2008). "Physical and biological organ dosimetry analysis for international space station astronauts". Radiation Research. 170 (1): 127–38. Bibcode:2008RadR..170..127C. doi:10.1667/RR1330.1. PMID 18582161. S2CID 44808142.
  3. ^ Durante, M; Cucinotta, FA (June 2008). "Heavy ion carcinogenesis and human space exploration". Nature Reviews. Cancer. 8 (6): 465–72. doi:10.1038/nrc2391. hdl:2060/20080012531. PMID 18451812. S2CID 8394210. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. ^ Committee to assess Health Risks from Exposure to Low levels of Ionizing Radiation (2006). Health risks from exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation: BIER VII - Phase 2. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/11340. ISBN 978-0-309-09156-5.
  5. ^ Cucinotta, F.A.; Durante, M. "Risk of Radiation Carcinogenesis" (PDF). Human Health and Performance Risks of Space Exploration Missions Evidence reviewed by the NASA Human Research Program. NASA. p. 121. Retrieved 6 June 2012.