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Radiation

Encyclopedia
Updated Feb 12, 2024

Contents

Introduction

Johnson Space Center (JSC), a world leader in human spaceflight, possesses unique knowledge, skills, and capabilities in radiation that can be applied to solving human health and performance challenges in space and here on earth. JSC’s physics, simulation and radiobiology tools allow experts to perform vehicle design and complex shielding assessments in different environments, develop shelter/shielding methods and optimization as well as predict and assess the biological effects of space radiation exposures. Our Radiation Biology Laboratory plays a pivotal role in understanding and addressing the impact of space radiation on astronauts during extended space missions. With expertise in console monitoring, radiation testing logistics, and radiation monitoring and measurements, JSC ensures the safety of human spaceflight operations. This includes round-the-clock solar radiation environment monitoring, active and passive radiation detectors, and the utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) for the development and certification of future exploration-class instrumentation, marking a significant step towards high-fidelity measurements in space exploration. We invite our partners to leverage our expertise in radiation, which is crucial for ensuring the safety and health of astronauts during space missions, offering comprehensive solutions to mitigate the risks associated with extended exposure beyond Earth’s protective atmosphere. 

Capabilities

Radiation Biology Laboratory 

Overview | The Johnson Space Center (JSC) Radiation Biology Laboratory provides analysis of cellular and molecular damages in astronauts due to space radiation exposure after long-duration space missions. 

Details |

  • Perform fluorescence microscopy
  • Perform gamma irradiation
  • Perform analysis of DNA damage including chromosome aberrations RNA/DNA isolation techniques 
  • Perform quantitative polymerase chain reaction 

Radiation Monitoring, Protection and Exposure Analysis 

Overview | The Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) offers many unique capabilities at the intersection of technology development, data analysis, statistics, information technology, health care, and radiation safety. It deals with the resources, devices, and methods required to predict, monitor, and minimize crew radiation exposure. 

Details |

Console Monitoring and Support 

Johnson Space Center (JSC) has more than 50 years of operational spaceflight experience and provides round-the-clock solar radiation environment monitoring for human spaceflight operations support. SRAG also routinely participates in flight rule development; alert warning systems integration; and space weather forecast modeling. These four capabilities will help JSC ensure safe human spaceflight operations in the upcoming exploration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit. 

Radiation Testing and Logistics 

JSC routinely coordinates and conducts radiation instrument measurements at various medical and accelerator facilities around the world. These measurements are used for instrument calibration, algorithm development, requirements verification, and multi-instrument comparisons. 

Radiation Monitoring and Measurements 

JSC has unique expertise and capabilities to assess extreme environment operations, dosimetry, radiation environment measurements, and design and shielding analyses with a very strong reliance on information technology as well as leveraging technology development in radiation detection. JSC offers personal radiation exposure monitoring using personal active detectors. JSC also performs intra- and extra-vehicular radiation environment monitoring and characterization using many passive and active detectors (ranging from micro-dosimeters to charged/neutral particle spectrometers). Currently, JSC is utilizing the International Space Station (ISS) as a development/ certification testbed for future exploration-class instrumentation that will enable high fidelity measurements in simultaneous low mass/low power configurations. 

Avionics Radiation Hardness Assurance

Overview | Space radiation poses a threat to electronics that are deployed in the space environment. Ionizing radiation consists of energetic charged particles – protons and heavy ions – which are subject to different physics than most common terrestrial radiation sources. These particles naturally occur in galactic cosmic rays, solar particle events, and as trapped radiation in planetary magnetic fields. Interaction with these charged particles can cause a variety of detrimental effects in electronics, ranging from performance degradation, impaired system functionality, or reduced system availability to destructive or other permanent non-recoverable effects, which can result in loss of mission. Radiation effects on electronics include Single-Event Effects (SEE), Total Ionizing Dose (TID), and Total Non-Ionizing Dose (TNID). Any electronic system with active integrated circuit components is potentially vulnerable and must consider the effects of space radiation to manage risk and ensure mission success.

Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) is an iterative process to assess radiation threats, provide information required to mitigate the associated risks, develop mitigation at multiple levels including hardware, software, and operational to ensure that the availability and reliability requirements are met, and identify/bound any residual risk. Consideration for RHA of electronic systems on space vehicles early in the design process allows for the most efficient and successful integration of RHA with the program or project.

Details | The JSC Ionizing Radiation Effects group provides RHA subject matter expertise to all JSC human space flight programs and projects, including:

  • Insight/oversight of contractor RHA activities
  • In-line RHA engineering for Government-furnished equipment (GFE)
    • Requirements and environments definition, radiation Electrical, Electronic, Electromechanical, and Electro-Optical (EEEE) part selection and design support, single-event effect criticality analysis (SEECA), radiation analysis documentation, design milestone and requirements verification support, etc.
  • Proton SEE testing of electronic components (at external facilities, e.g., Loma Linda University Cyclotron Facility LLUMC, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
  • Heavy ion SEE testing of electronic components (at external facilities, e.g., Texas A&M University Cyclotron Facility TAMU, Brookhaven National Lab BNL, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL)
  • Pulsed laser SEE testing at JSC’s LASer SEE Lab (LASSEE) (in development)
  • Chair of the NASA JSC Ionizing Radiation Panel (IRP)
  • Owner of the NASA JSC RHA Standard https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20230013399

Related Software

Acute Radiation Risk and BRYNTRN Organ Dose (ARRBOD) version 2.1

Badhwar-O’Neill 2020 Galactic Cosmic Ray Model (BON2020) v2.3

GCR Event-Based Risk Model (GERMCode) Code

HemoDose Software, Version 2.0

NASA Space Radiation Cancer Risk (NSCR) Model 2012

RITRACKS: A software for simulation of stochastic radiation track structure, micro- and nano-dosimetry, radiation chemistry and DNA damage by heavy ions

Single Board Computer System Monitoring Software for Radiation Testing

NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Kayla Barron begins her work day inside the International Space Station’s Columbus laboratory module. She gives a “thumbs up” and poses next to the Light Ions Detector that monitors the radiation environment aboard the orbiting lab. 
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide poses with the HiMassSEE (Spacecraft Single Event Environments at High Shielding Mass) kits 1,2,3 and 4 in the U.S. Lab aboard the International Space Station (ISS). 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 accommodations, radiation transport model validation, and flight demonstration data on advanced microelectronics and chemical dosimeters.
Bean Room, or "The Cave"
The beam room, also called “the cave”, at the Texas A&M University K500 cyclotron. A device under test (DUT) is set up with accompanying test equipment for a heavy ion single-event effect (SEE) radiation test to characterize the DUT.
NASA/JSC Ionizing Radiation Effects Group
Data room at the Texas A&M K500 Cyclotron
The data room at the Texas A&M University K500 cyclotron. This room contains additional test equipment and allows test engineers to remotely monitor the performance of the DUT during irradiation.
NASA/JSC Ionizing Radiation Effects Group
Heavy Ion Radiation Beam Penetration at NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL)
Visual verification of the heavy ion radiation beam penetration at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) in Upton, NY
NASA/JSC Ionizing Radiation Effects Group

Related Capabilities

Capabilities Home Page

Flight Computing & Avionics Subsystems
NASA astronaut and Expedition 67 Flight Engineer Bob Hines works inside the portable glovebag processing biological samples for the Food Physiology study. The human research experiment aims to define targeted, more efficient dietary interventions to maintain crew health and performance as well as the food system requirements to support these interventions.

Human Research Laboratories

Medical & Pharmacology

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