Estimates of GCR radiation exposures on Mars for female crews in hemispherical habitats

Estimates of SPE Radiation Exposures on Mars for Female Astronauts in Hemispherical Habitats

“…The results presented in Table 1 include the effects of the 2π solid angle shadow shielding provided by the planet's bulk. In recent work, 3 the annual effective doses for female crewmembers at the mean elevation on Mars, for the most recent solar minimum period (2009), were estimated to be ~24 -26 cSv, varying little between the two atmosphere models or with Table 1, and comparing these results to the PELs listed in Table 2, we note that the career effective dose limit is not exceeded for any of the three SPEs, shielded by the atmosphere of Mars and as little as 0.3 g cm -2 of aluminum. The effective dose estimate for the October 1989 SPE, shielded by the warm, lowdensity atmosphere and 0.3 g cm -2 of aluminum is closest to the 25 y old female limit (31 cSv exposure versus the 37 cSv) but the limit is not close to being exceeded.…”

“…In addition, radiation limits for females are slightly lower than for males of the same age, due to the increased radiosensitivities of some organs. 4 As was done for the recent study of GCR exposures, 3 three different areal densities for the aluminum hemisphere are investigated: (1) 0.3 g cm -2 , which is comparable to the protection provided by a spacesuit;…”

“…2 In recent work, we focused on estimating the radiation exposures from the current galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment, which is one of the most intense of the space era. 3 That study suggested that GCR exposures on the surface of Mars would not exceed current NASA Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) 4 for radiation.…”

Modeling the effectiveness of radiation shielding materials for astronaut protection on Mars

“…Near the horizon, particles have to travel through longer paths within the atmosphere when compared to radiation coming from near the zenith. To give a quantitative view of the importance of the particle's origin, the density of the atmosphere at zero elevation for zenith angle z = 0 is 16.0 g • cm −2 , whereas it increases to 120 g • cm −2 at z = 90 • [31], so the additional protection is obvious. The above hold true for SPEs at most.…”