![]() The primary risks of concern include carcinogenesis, central nervous system (CNS) effects resulting in potential in-mission cognitive or behavioral impairment and/or late neurological disorders, degenerative tissue effects including circulatory and heart disease, as well as potential immune system decrements impacting multiple aspects of crew health. Gateway, lunar landers, and surface habitats will be designed to protect crew against SPEs with vehicle optimization, storm shelter concepts, and/or active dosimetry however, the ever penetrating GCR will continue to pose the most significant health risks especially as lunar missions increase in duration and as NASA sets its aspirations on Mars. She adds, “The mysterious nature of cosmic rays serves as a reminder of just how little we know about our universe.”įor more high-energy science from beyond Earth’s atmosphere, stay tuned to exciting new NASA plans for a sustainable return to the moon, astronauts will once again leave Earth’s protective magnetosphere only to endure higher levels of radiation from galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and the possibility of a large solar particle event (SPE). ISS-CREAM has a goal of measuring the highest energy possible for direct measurement of high-energy cosmic rays.” The longer exposure times on the space station allow for the measurement of higher energies. The station allows for longterm monitoring in lieu of multiple limited-duration balloon flights, providing direct, unimpeded access to incoming cosmic rays without atmospheric interference. Seo says, “The ISS provides an excellent monitoring platform for high-energy cosmic rays. Named “ISS-CREAM,” it will remain installed on the Japanese Experiment Module, also known as Kibo, for at least three years. A reconfigured CREAM detector is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station in 2017 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket. Since 2004, the team has flown CREAM seven times over Antarctica accumulating more than 191 days of data from altitudes as high as 120,000 feet. CREAM is able to measure the energy and direction of each incoming cosmic ray particle and identify the particle type by measuring its charge, thereby providing clues to the particles’ origin and acceleration mechanisms. By lofting the detector above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere, researchers get a better idea of what cosmic rays are like before they collide with nuclei in the air above the detector. The cosmic ray detector known as CREAM (The Cosmic-Ray Energetics and Mass investigation) has been launched to the stratosphere above Antarctica onboard long-duration helium-filled balloons. ![]() While indications of the energies of cosmic ray particles can be measured from the ground, Seo and colleagues have taken their studies to higher elevations, directly measuring particles from space before they break up in Earth’s atmosphere. “But how do natural cosmic ray accelerators pump so much energy into these particles? This is one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics.” This is more energy than we have achieved in the most powerful manmade particle accelerators.” Other, unknown cataclysmic phenomena may be at work, too, especially for the most energetic cosmic rays.Įun-Suk Seo, a professor of physics at the University of Maryland says, “Cosmic ray particles with energies as high as 10 20 electron volts have been measured on the ground. The expanding shock waves can break apart interstellar atoms and accelerate the debris to unimaginably high energies. When massive stars explode they blast most of their material into space. It’s believed that the majority of cosmic rays come from supernova explosions.
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