Payload 04 Information

Abstract:
With recent greater interest in human space flight, there exists a need for the health monitoring of astronauts. The hostile radiation environment of space poses a serious and complex risk to the health of astronauts during extra-planetary missions. Current estimates of consequential adverse health effects remain highly imprecise due to uncertainties in radiation quality factors. Recent estimates of cancer risk projections for a typical Mars mission have associated uncertainties of 400-600%. Existing space qualified radiation detectors lack the ability to accurately measure radiation quality factors. Specifically, the active monitoring of exposure to neutrons, a major radiation dose hazard, is inadequate. We have developed the Charged & Neutral Particle Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (CNP-TEPC), a unique radiation dosimeter with the capability of separating radiation dose contributions from charged particles, gamma rays, and neutrons. The tissue equivalence of the detection system enables the collection of meaningful data since the dosimeter behaves analogously to a human cell. This real time radiation measurement device satisfies all radiation monitoring requirements in current manned missions to low earth orbit and all anticipated requirements of future manned missions into deep space. A balloon flight will allow for the characterization of the instrument in a near space-like environment and enable the testing of an onboard radio communication system, which will play a key role in our mission of classifying radiological hazards in space. With major mechanical, electrical, and software advancements made in the HASP 2017 flight, a fully functioning CNP-TEPC instrument with the capability of transmitting spectral data is going to be developed.