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Spacecraft Single Event Environments at High Shielding Mass (HiMassSEE)
05.23.12

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

Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

Spacecraft Single Event Environments at High Shielding Mass (HiMassSEE) measures space radiation interactions with spacecraft structure and shielding using several passive track detector technologies to provide a more accurate definition of International Space Station (ISS) payload accommodation.

Principal Investigator

  • Steven Koontz, Ph.D., , , ,

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

  • Brandon Reddell, , Boeing, Houston, TX, United States
  • Doug Sheldon, , Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
  • Hester Yim, , Johnson Space Center/EV5, , ,
  • Lakshmi Putcha, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

    • Payload Developer
    Information Pending

    Sponsoring Space Agency

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

    Sponsoring Organization:

    Science Mission Directorate (SMD)

    ISS Expedition Duration:

    March 2011 - October 2013



    Expeditions Assigned

    27/28, 31/32, 33/34, 35/36

    Previous ISS Missions

    Information Pending

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    Experiment/Payload Description

    Research Summary

    • Space radiation and secondary radiation from impacts of space radiation on materials poses a significant hazard for the operation of contemporary and future high performance electronics.


    • The nature of the secondary radiation is assessed and the interaction of this radiation with various metallic elements and state-of-the-art memory devices and pharmaceutical formulations will be established as will radiation transport model verification data.


    • The research will determine the effects of secondary radiation on the functioning of electronics and the shelf-life of pharmaceuticals in the ISS as well as providing data for validation of space radiation transport codes used to predict space radiation effects in support of spacecraft design and verification.

    Description

    HiMassSEE aims to characterize the combined primary and secondary ionizing radiation environments in the high shielding mass environment on board the ISS. The project also strives to support the selection and verification of avionics and materials through the precise description of nuclear reactions induced by secondary particle showers inside the ISS.

    The median shielding mass, where the HiMassSEE experiment is located, is estimated to be between 20 and 50 g/cm2 Al equivalents. FLUKA and HZETRN2010 has been used to generate numerical models of the interaction of space radiation with the known shielding mass of the ISS. One of the major role's of the HiMassSEE experiment is to determine the accuracy of the FLUKA, HZETRN2010 and other models.

    Previously unexamined nuclear reactions of high Z elements which are induced by the combined primary and secondary spacecraft radiation environment are studied in this experiment. To achieve this, high linear energy transfer (LET) particles emitted from thin metal foils due to incident primary radiation are recorded in dielectric track-etch detectors for post flight laboratory analysis.

    The HiMassSEE payload will also provide flight a demonstration of recently developed Fluorescence Nuclear Track Detectors (FNTD).

    HiMassSEE determines the effects of the combined primary/secondary radiation environment on advanced technologies of practical interest. The advanced materials that are studied for radiation damage are nonvolatile ferroelectric RAM, graphene film nanoelectronic materials, chalcogenide RAM, magneto resistive RAM, rare Earth element vanadate Quantum Dots, and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) flash memory.

    Texas Instruments microcontroller devices of programmatic interest to JSC ISS are also examined for radiation damage and for data retention of flash memory while unpowered.
    Another study which involves a new concept in space radiation dosimetry is pursued. Radio-fluorescent dyes responsive between 1 and 1000 cGy (centi-Gray units) measure UV/VIS (ultraviolet and visible) spectroscopy before and after flight and compare it to ground-based controls. These dyes have the potential to act as radiation dosimeters.

    Pharmaceutical shelf life measurements are also to be studied as a follow-up to previous research conducted on pharmaceutical stability on board the ISS.

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    Applications

    Space Applications

    Information Pending

    Earth Applications

    Information Pending

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    Operations

    Operational Requirements

    Information Pending

    Operational Protocols

    Information Pending

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    Results/More Information

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    Related Web Sites

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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

    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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