Contribution of cosmic ray heavy ions to the radiation hazard in manned space flights.
Primary cosmic radiation arriving near the Earth may be classified into two general categories: the gamma component and the hadronic component. The hadronic component contains mainly protons, a small amount of alpha particles and a smaller amount of heavier charged nuclei (ions). Although the fluxes of these heavier ions are very small in comparison to those of protons, they are able to originate a huge linear energy transfer (LET). This work studies the contribution of heavy ions from cosmic rays to the radiation hazard to which the crew of a manned long duration space flight might be exposed. The geometry of the energy deposition by a heavy ion is studied, and it is found that energies of the order of up to 10(23) J kg-1 are deposited.
Domingo
C
C
Departament de Fisica, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
Font
J
J
Baixeras
C
C
Font
L l
Ll
Fernandez
F
F
D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D020450:Heavy Ions; D007854:Lead; D018499:Linear Energy Transfer; D010984:Platinum; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection; D011853:Radiobiology; D011874:Radiometry; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013026:Space Flight
D007854:Lead; D010984:Platinum