title: Quality factor and dose equivalent investigations aboard the Soviet space station MIR.
abstract: Since Dec 1988, date of the French-Soviet joint space mission "ARAGATZ", the CIRCE device (Compteur Intégrateur de Rayonnement Complexe dans l'Espace) had recorded dose equivalent and quality factor inside the MIR station (380-410 km, 51.5 degrees).  After the initial gas filling two years ago, the low pressure tissue equivalent proportional counter is still in good working conditions.  Some results of three periods, viz Dec 1988, Mar-Apr 1989 and Jan-Feb 1990 are presented.  The average dose equivalent rates measured are respectively 0.6, 0.8 and 0.6 mSv/day with a quality factor equal to 1.9.  Some detailed measurements show the increasing of the dose equivalent rates through the SAA and near polar horns.  The real time determination of the quality factors allows to point out high LET (Linear Energy Transfer) events with quality factors in the range 10-20.
authors.affiliation: Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Fontenay aux Roses, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bouisset
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Akatov
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegrist
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Parmentier
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Archangelsky
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Vorojtsov
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Petrov
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kovalev
mesh_terms: D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D018534:Earth, Planet; D005602:France; D018499:Linear Energy Transfer; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000592:standards*; D013020:South America; D013026:Space Flight; D018531:Spacecraft / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013997:Time Factors; D014586:USSR