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Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System - Shield (ALTEA-Shield)
05.23.12

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Experiment/Payload Overview

Information provided courtesy of the Erasmus Experiment Archive.
Brief Summary

Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System - Shield (ALTEA-Shield) provides an assessment of the radiation environment inside the ISS.

Principal Investigator

  • Livio Narici, Ph.D., University of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy

    • Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

  • A. Ferrari, , , , , Italy
  • A. Ottolenghi, , , , , Italy
  • D. Schardt, , , , ,
  • Eric Benton, , Eril Research Incorporated, Richmond, CA, United States
  • F. Ballarini, , , , , Italy
  • G. Battistoni, , , , , Italy
  • H. Iwase, , , , , Italy
  • J. Miller, , , , , Italy
  • Lembit Sihver, Ph.D., University of Chalmers, Goteborg, , Sweden
  • M. Shavers, , , , ,
  • Marco Casolino, Ph.D., Universita of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy
  • Piergiorgio Picozza, Ph.D., University of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, , Italy
  • S. Villari, , , , , Italy
  • T. Sato, , , , ,
  • Walter G. Sannita, M.D., University of Genoa, Genoa, , Italy

    • Payload Developer

    Italian Space Agency, Rome, , Italy
    Alenia Spazio - Laben, Milano, , Italy

    Sponsoring Space Agency

    European Space Agency (ESA)

    Sponsoring Organization:

    Information Pending

    ISS Expedition Duration:

    March 2010 - September 2012



    Expeditions Assigned

    23/24, 25/26, 27/28, 29/30, 31/32

    Previous ISS Missions

    Information Pending

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    Experiment/Payload Description

    Research Summary

    • Astronauts in orbit are exposed to cosmic radiation that is of sufficient frequency and intensity to cause effects on the central nervous system. Radiation exposure represents one of the greatest risks to humans traveling on exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO).


    • ALTEA-Shield is part of the ALTEA program, a multidisciplinary research project which aims at obtaining a better understanding of the light flash phenomenon, and more generally the interaction between cosmic rays and brain functions. Interactions between ionizing radiation in space and brain functions, and the related risk assessments, are among the major concerns when programming long permanence in space.


    • The Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System - Shield (ALTEA-Shield) experiment, developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), will measure the particle flux in the U.S. Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), being able to discriminate the type of particles, to measure their trajectories and the delivered energies.

    Description

    The Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System - Shield (ALTEA-Shield) investigation provides an assessment of the radiation environment inside the International Space Station (ISS). The goal is to better understand the interaction between cosmic rays and brain functions. Since radiation exposure in space is one of the greatest risks to human health, a better understanding and characterization of the shielding capability of different materials is needed in order to enable future, long term human exploration.

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    Applications

    Space Applications

    Information Pending

    Earth Applications

    Information Pending

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    Operations

    Operational Requirements

    Information Pending

    Operational Protocols

    ALTEA-Shield will utilize the ALTEA hardware and perform radiation monitoring with shielding material on ALTEA detectors in the U.S. Laboratory.

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    Results/More Information

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    Related Web Sites
  • The information on this page is provided courtesy of the ESA Erasmus Experiment Archive.

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    Publications

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    Ground Based Results Publications

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    ISS Patent Publications

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    Related Publications

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    Images

    imageNASA Image: ISS013E65565 - ALTEA helmet inside the U.S. Laboratory of ISS during Expedition 13. The ALTEA hardware will be utilized in the ALTEA-Shield investigation.


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    imageNASA Image: ISS024E015129 - The Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System (ALTEA) during reconfiguration with Shield Isotropic Equipment.


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    imageNASA Image: ISS027E017236 - European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, Expedition 27 flight engineer, works with Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts (ALTEA) Shield isotropic equipment in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.


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    Information provided by the investigation team to the ISS Program Scientist's Office.
    If updates are needed to the summary please contact JSC-ISS-Program-Science-Group. For other general questions regarding space station research and technology, please feel free to call our help line at 281-244-6187 or e-mail at JSC-ISS-Payloads-Helpline.
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