title: Measurements of energetic particle radiation in transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory.
abstract: The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, containing the Curiosity rover, was launched to Mars on 26 November 2011, and for most of the 253-day, 560-million-kilometer cruise to Mars, the Radiation Assessment Detector made detailed measurements of the energetic particle radiation environment inside the spacecraft. These data provide insights into the radiation hazards that would be associated with a human mission to Mars. We report measurements of the radiation dose, dose equivalent, and linear energy transfer spectra. The dose equivalent for even the shortest round-trip with current propulsion systems and comparable shielding is found to be 0.66 ± 0.12 sievert.
authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO, USA. zeitlin@boulder.swri.edu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeitlin
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hassler
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Cucinotta
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ehresmann
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Wimmer-Schweingruber
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Brinza
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weigle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Böttcher
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burmeister
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Posner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rafkin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reitz
mesh_terms: D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D006801:Humans; D018535:Mars; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D013026:Space Flight