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Managing Space Radiation Risk in the New Era of Space Exploration (2008) / Chapter Skim
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6 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 95-100

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From page 95...
... Lunar GCR environment. Given the far larger uncertainties in biological effects, the committee finds that knowledge of the composition, energy spectrum, and temporal variation of the "free space" GCR component of the interplanetary radiation environment is sufficient to support the needs of the Constellation lunar missions.
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From page 96...
... Although the committee recognizes the advantages of adopting a specific solar proton spectrum as the design standard, NASA's current strategy of evaluating the efficacy of an SPE shielding configuration using only the August 1972 King spectrum is not adequate. Under typical depths of shielding for Exploration vehicles, the level of radiation exposure produced by other large events in the historical record could exceed the exposure of August 1972.
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From page 97...
... NASA should perform research at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory aggressively to take advantage of the existing window of opportunity while this facility is still available. The results of the b ­ iological research will thus be able to have an impact on the Project Constellation missions in the short term, as well as provide knowledge essential for the management of space radiation risk in the long term.
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From page 98...
... Existing datasets should also be reviewed to assess their value in determining the extent to which albedo neutrons on the lunar and martian surfaces may constitute a significant component of the radiation environment. Lunar and planetary surface measurements performed in the pursuit of other exploration objectives may become available; if so, the data should be used for statistically significant comparisons with theory whenever appropriate.
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From page 99...
... Permissible exposure limits specified in current NASA radiation protection standards should not be violated in order to meet engineering resources available at a particular level of funding. To ensure that the design of spacecraft habitats and missions implement NASA radiation protection standards, • An independent radiation safety assessment should continue to be an integral part of mission design and operations, and • An established limit for radiation risk, as incorporated in NASA radiation protection standards, needs to be included in "Go–No-go" decisions for every mission.
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Key Terms

  • space radiation
  • radiation risk
  • radiation biology
  • protection plan
  • biology research

  • protection standards
  • radiation safety
  • orion radiation
  • nasa radiation
  • radiation shielding

  • space exploration
  • radiation laboratory
  • radiation climate
  • radiation environment
  • nasa space

  • lunar missions
  • historical record
  • crew radiation
  • radiation transport
  • secondary radiation

  • exploration missions
  • gcr modulation
  • protection plans
  • alara principle
  • shielding design

  • project constellation
  • surface measurements
  • safety officer
  • protection requirements
  • proton spectrum


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