Radiation measurements on the Mir Orbital Station

Radiat Meas. 2002 Oct;35(5):393-422. doi: 10.1016/s1350-4487(02)00072-0.

Abstract

Radiation measurements made onboard the MIR Orbital Station have spanned nearly a decade and covered two solar cycles, including one of the largest solar particle events, one of the largest magnetic storms, and a mean solar radio flux level reaching 250 x 10(4) Jansky that has been observed in the last 40 years. The cosmonaut absorbed dose rates varied from about 450 microGy day-1 during solar minimum to approximately half this value during the last solar maximum. There is a factor of about two in dose rate within a given module, and a similar variation from module to module. The average radiation quality factor during solar minimum, using the ICRP-26 definition, was about 2.4. The drift of the South Atlantic Anomaly was measured to be 6.0 +/- 0.5 degrees W, and 1.6 +/- 0.5 degrees N. These measurements are of direct applicability to the International Space Station. This paper represents a comprehensive review of Mir Space Station radiation data available from a variety of sources.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Astronauts
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Cosmic Radiation*
  • Extravehicular Activity
  • Humans
  • Neutrons
  • Protons
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Radiation Monitoring / instrumentation*
  • Radiation Protection
  • Solar Activity*
  • South America
  • Space Flight / instrumentation*
  • Space Flight / trends
  • Spacecraft / instrumentation
  • Thermoluminescent Dosimetry / instrumentation
  • Weightlessness*

Substances

  • Protons