Conveners
CD6 - Radiation for exploration beyond LEO: orals - part 1
- Aiko Nagamatsu (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA))
- Giovanni Santin (ESA)
- Thomas Berger (German Aerospace Center (DLR))
Description
As agencies and private enterprises around the world look to embark on an era of enhanced exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, so the need to understand better the radiation environment in transit and at the destinations of these missions is likewise enhanced. The near-term target for many missions is the Moon, the long-term horizon is Mars. Strategies to raise heavy spacecraft (elements) include electric orbit raising, due to the improved fuel efficiency but this can result in components spending time in the heart of the Earth's radiation belts. The accelerated "new space" approach applied to many robotic missions compared with previous exploration and science missions may result in components which may be susceptible to the environment. Humans travelling beyond the magnetically shielded confines of the Earth's magnetosphere will be exposed to a very different radiation field. The combination of risks to humans and to spacecraft components along with the need for very high reliability places stringent requirements on such missions. Requirements include both climatological understanding of the average and extreme environments as well as space weather forecasts for issuing of alerts both prior to launch and during mission operations.
Ensuring safety in the space environment is critical as human space activities, such as the Artemis program, become increasingly ambitious. In particular, solar energetic particle (SEP) events, triggered by solar flares (SFs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), pose significant risks to human health and space systems. To address these risks, Fujitsu Limited and ISEE, Nagoya University, have...
Solar eruptive events can accelerate electrons that usually precede the arrival of the proton and ion components during solar energetic particle (SEP) events. These latter species have been much more studied in SEP radiation environment models than electrons. Solar energetic electron (SEE) populations are typically detected in the kinetic energy range from a few keV to a few MeV, with...
The CHerenkov Atmospheric Observation System (CHAOS) is a student-developed particle detector flown aboard the BEXUS 35 balloon mission as part of the REXUS/BEXUS programme to test alternative concepts in near-relativistic ion detection. The instrument combines energy-loss measurements (dE/dx–dE/dx) with a velocity threshold from an aerogel-based Cherenkov detector, enabling clean measurements...
ESA's European Exploration Strategy (Explore 2040) establishes goals oriented to cover destinations from low-Earth orbit to the Moon and on to Mars. One characteristic of the strategy is to enhance European leadership in key areas leveraging European expertise as a pathway to European self-determination whilst remaining a preferred partner for international cooperation. Science and enabling...
The Norwegian Radiation Monitor (NORM) is a compact, single-detector particle telescope developed for measuring energetic electrons and protons in space. Its modular architecture allows for deployment across a variety of orbital platforms, including geostationary (GEO), low Earth (LEO), and highly elliptical orbits (HEO).
The first NORM unit is currently flying aboard the Arctic Satellite...
To achieve sustainable human planetary exploration, world-wide space agencies are collaborating to advance crewed mission programs. The Moon and Mars, key targets of these missions, lack the thick atmosphere and strong geomagnetic shield such like the Earth. As a result, the intensity of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) in these environments can reach an order of magnitude higher than in the low...
The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) aboard NASA's Curiosity rover has continuously monitored energetic particles on the Martian surface since its landing on August 6, 2012, providing an unprecedented record of radiation exposure spanning an entire solar cycle.
Understanding the Martian radiation environment is critical for assessing astronaut health risks and guiding the design of future...
High-energy particles originating either from the Sun (i.e., Solar Energetic Particles – SEPs) or our Galaxy (Galactic Cosmic Rays – GCRs) have been observed for decades with spacecraft and ground-based instruments. However, there is a gap in the energy spectral region from beyond the nominal science-grade spacecraft instrument (100 MeV) to that of ground-based recordings. One of the...
Timely radiation environment data are increasingly critical for satellite design, operations, and resilience. ASRO and ESI present a commercial pathway to scalable space weather observations, starting with a Low Earth Orbit demonstration on ESI’s mission carrying ASRO’s Relativistic Electron and Proton Experiment (REPE). The payload suite also includes complementary third-party sensors: a...
As human space exploration moves beyond Low Earth Orbit, understanding and mitigating space radiation risks becomes increasingly urgent. With regular missions to the Moon on the horizon and preparations underway for future human travel to Mars, astronaut safety is a top priority. One of the most critical challenges is exposure to ionizing radiation from Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar...
SAWS-ASPECS is a comprehensive toolset developed to support current and future space exploration missions through detailed modeling, monitoring, and forecasting of radiation environments. SAWS-ASPECS leverages real-time space weather inputs to characterize both average and extreme particle flux conditions, with particular relevance to high-impact events such as Ground Level Enhancements...
For decades, it has now been established that space radiations have a direct impact on astronauts’ health (Apollo missions, astronauts on ISS, …). Furthermore, with the renewed interest in space exploration (lunar bases, travel to the Moon and Mars, …), the radiation protection is a key parameter to build an efficient housing against cosmic rays and solar flares. TRAD has developed and...
In late September 2025, NASA’s IMAP mission is scheduled to be launched. It is expected that the space weather real-time data stream received by the IMAP Active Link for Real-time (I-ALiRT) network will become publicly available in early 2026. The HESPERIA team is preparing to implement a generalized Relativistic Electron Alert System for Exploration (REleASE) based on the experience derived...
Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) events, especially gradual events generated by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), need to be considered by spacecraft designers. SEP events, highly vairable in frequency and magnitude, are the dominant particle radiation hazard for interplanetary missions up to hundreds of MeVs. Given the majority of SEP data available is collected near the Earth environment,...
The Nowcast of Aerospace Ionizing RAdiation System (NAIRAS) model is composed of coupled physics-based models that transport ionizing radiation through the heliosphere, Earth’s magnetosphere, the neutral atmosphere, and aircraft and spacecraft shielding for Earth. while for Mars, the transport is mainly through the heliosphere, and Mars atmosphere (the induced magnetic field effect at Mars...
The Relativistic Electron and Proton Experiment (REPE) is an advanced, compact particle radiation detector designed for a variety of missions and space weather applications. It was originally developed by University of Turku (UTU) to study the Van Allen belts onboard the nanosatellite mission Foresail-2 and later transitioned into a collaboration with ASRO for future missions. At the moment,...
Sudden Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events can have a major impact on technology and humans in space. Therefore forecasts and early warning systems working to support those missions are desirable. One example is the REleASE system (A. Posner, 2007), which utilizes the close correlation of near relativistic electrons and the slower but more hazardous protons. The early arrival of the...
