I have a question I have been mulling over regarding the risk of
radiation exposure. In his book "High Frontiers", Professor O'Neill
states that the most serious cosmic-ray problem is prolonged exposure
to "heavy primaries" and that on Earth, the atmosphere provides
protection against them. He further states that the only direct human
experience with heavy primaries has been that of the Apollo
astronauts. I am curious as to why other astronauts (Gemini and
Skylab at the time of publication, and certainly Shuttle and MIR
since, for example) have not had experience with heavy primaries as
they have spent extended time outside of the atmosphere's protective
cover.
flares and states that if there had been astronauts on the way to the
moon during the period when solar flares are at their maximum, they
would almost certainly have been killed. This latter risk, of course,
is the primary basis on which the pundits of the "faked moon landing"
conspiracy base their theory.
I was wondering if our knowledge of the risks of radiation exposure
has advanced appreciably since the publication of Professor O'Neill's
book, and where I might obtain information on this.
>
> I have a question I have been mulling over regarding the risk of
> radiation exposure. In his book "High Frontiers", Professor O'Neill
> states that the most serious cosmic-ray problem is prolonged exposure
> to "heavy primaries" and that on Earth, the atmosphere provides
> protection against them. He further states that the only direct human
> experience with heavy primaries has been that of the Apollo
> astronauts. I am curious as to why other astronauts (Gemini and
> Skylab at the time of publication, and certainly Shuttle and MIR
> since, for example) have not had experience with heavy primaries as
> they have spent extended time outside of the atmosphere's protective
> cover.
>
around the Earth (except near the magnetic poles). Low Earth orbit, which
is as far as all our non-Apollo astronauts have gone, is within the
innermost belt, and so avoids direct exposure to these.
The "heavy primary" radiation threat is somewhat different from
ordinary radiation exposure here on Earth - the only real analog
is putting yourself in the beam of a heavy-ion accelerator; we have
a local research group that's part of a NASA institute that's
been studying this sort of thing:
http://www.nsbri.org/ (National Space Biomedical research Institute)
http://www.nsbri.org/Research/Radiation.html (Radiation Effects)
Arthur
Good question. The following link gives a complete explanation. The
quick answer is that LEO, which is where ISS is, is inside the magnetic
radiation belts that protect the earth. The atmosphere cleans out most
stuff that makes it through the radiation belts.
Mitchell James
Thanks for the link. I had a quick look at it and it would seem to
address any question I might have with regard to the radiation exposure
risks. At first glance, it would seem that the Apollo missions to the
moon simply "got lucky" in that no one suffered serious exposure.
Ron Fox wrote,
moon simply "got lucky" in that no one suffered serious exposure."
In the fictional account "Space" by Michener, there is an Apollo 18
mission that lands on the farside of the Moon. The two moonwalkers are
outside the LEM when a big solar storm occurs. They make it back to the
LEM, although one faints. The LEM takes off, then crashes. The
command-module pilot makes it back safely to Earth, supposedly receiving
sufficient radiation protection from the command module's heat shield.
Ron
Ron Fox ronfox@...
01/09/03 06:49 AM
Thanks for the link. I had a quick look at it and it would seem to
address any question I might have with regard to the radiation exposure
risks. At first glance, it would seem that the Apollo missions to the
moon simply "got lucky" in that no one suffered serious exposure.
Ya know, when you give away what happens at the end of a book, you
really ought to post a spoiler warning.
Mea culpa !
Chris Gidman cjgidman@...
01/09/03 04:26 PM
Ya know, when you give away what happens at the end of a book, you
really ought to post a spoiler warning.
Chris.