3D Silicon Detector Telescope for Determining the Equivalent Dose of Astronauts
- Paper ID
4611
- author
- company
Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute;
- country
Hungary
- year
2006
- abstract
One of the many risks of long-duration space flights is the excessive exposure to cosmic radiation, which has great importance particularly during solar flares and higher solar activity. Since space radiation mainly consists of charged heavy particles (protons, alpha and heavier particles), the equivalent dose differs significantly from the absorbed dose. The main goals of this project are to develop and manufacture a three-axis silicon detector telescope, called Tritel, and to develop software for data evaluation of the measured energy deposition spectra. The 3D silicon telescope should be the first such device used for measuring the dose astronauts are subjected to. The equipment is suitable for measuring the absorbed dose and the LET spectrum, and hence determining the average radiation weighting factor and the equivalent dose, too. The main benefit of the triaxial arrangement is that it is going to exclude mostly the highly anisotropic sensitivity of the recently used one-dimensional silicon telescopes. Research and development began in the KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Budapest several years ago. The geometric parameters of the three axis silicon LET telescope were defined, results of previous measurements were used as a benchmark. Features of various types and sizes of telescopes were analyzed. Elements of the Tritel telescope system, issues of the electronic block diagram, requirements for the mechanical constructions and possibilities of data handling and data evaluation are analyzed in this paper. First results of the calibrations will be presented as well. In the near future the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), Moscow is going to provide us the opportunity to carry out measurements on the Russian platform of the International Space Station. Within the framework of the Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI) created by the ESA Education Department in order to actively involve European students in real space missions, a more compact version of Tritel (Tritel-S) will be operated onboard the European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) in Geostacionary Transfer Orbit. The device may be a precursor of a subsequent version of Tritel planned for a future Mars probe, too.