Interplanetary crew dose estimates for worst case solar particle events based on historical data for the Carrington flare of 1859

Stephens, Daniel L.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Hoff, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2005.01.024

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…While cosmic rays result in a comparatively continuous low-dose-rate exposure, SPEs occur randomly and can deliver a higher dose, up to 2 Gy, in a short time (14)(15)(16). Although spacecraft shielding can effectively reduce radiation exposure, the warning provided by surveillance mechanisms may not allow for complete protection during extravehicular activities on the lunar surface (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Dose Response of Trabecular Bone in Mice to Proton Radiation

et al. 2008

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Astronauts on exploratory missions will experience a complex environment, including microgravity and radiation. While the deleterious effects of unloading on bone are well established, fewer studies have focused on the effects of radiation. We previously demonstrated that 2 Gy of ionizing radiation has deleterious effects on trabecular bone in mice 4 months after exposure. The present study investigated the skeletal response after total doses of proton radiation that astronauts may be exposed to during a solar particle event. We exposed mice to 0.5, 1 or 2 Gy of whole-body proton radiation and killed them humanely 117 days later. Tibiae and femora were analyzed using microcomputed tomography, mechanical testing, mineral composition and quantitative histomorphometry. Relative to control mice, mice exposed to 2 Gy had significant differences in trabecular bone volume fraction (−20%), trabecular separation (+11%), and trabecular volumetric bone mineral density (−19%). Exposure to 1 Gy radiation induced a nonsignificant trend in trabecular bone volume fraction (−13%), while exposure to 0.5 Gy resulted in no differences. No response was detected in cortical bone. Further analysis of the 1-Gy mice using synchrotron microCT revealed a significantly lower trabecular bone volume fraction (−13%) than in control mice. Trabecular bone loss 4 months after exposure to 1 Gy highlights the importance of further examination of how space radiation affects bone.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Dose Response of Trabecular Bone in Mice to Proton Radiation

et al. 2008

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“…Again, the CAM model was used to provide the body organ self-shielding distributions. Results of these analyses, excerpted from Stephens et al (2005), are displayed in Table 3 for the skin, ocular lens of the eye, and the bone marrow.…”

Section: Organ Doses In Deep Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analyses of possible doses from a solar energetic particle event similar to the Carrington Event of 1859 have been carried out for purposes of estimating doses in deep space for electronics (Townsend et al, 2003) and humans (Stephens et al, 2005); and for humans in low-Earth orbit (Townsend et al, 2004). In these analyses various spectral shapes were assumed.…”

Section: Previous Analyses Of Organ Dosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2). In Stephens et al (2005), it was assumed that the whole body dose could be approximated by the bone marrow (BFO) dose. The study showed that significant acute radiation syndrome effects were possible.…”

Section: Organ Doses In Deep Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, one fluence datum at a single energy does not constitute a spectrum. Hence, to generate plausible spectra, the Carrington flare fluence for >30 MeV protons, reported by McCracken et al (2001) has been used as an overall normalization in combination with the spectral shapes of several large solar particle events from the space era to create hypothetical worst-case solar particle event spectra, which have been used to assess possible doses in electronics (Townsend et al, 2003) and humans (Stephens et al, 2005;Townsend et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Carrington event: Possible doses to crews in space from a comparable event

Townsend

Stephens

Hoff

et al. 2006

Advances in Space Research

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Microgravity Stress: Bone and Connective Tissue

Bloomfield

Martinez

Boudreaux

et al. 2016

Comprehensive Physiology

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The major alterations in bone and the dense connective tissues in humans and animals exposed to microgravity illustrate the dependency of these tissues' function on normal gravitational loading. Whether these alterations depend solely on the reduced mechanical loading of zero g or are compounded by fluid shifts, altered tissue blood flow, radiation exposure, and altered nutritional status is not yet well defined. Changes in the dense connective tissues and intervertebral disks are generally smaller in magnitude but occur more rapidly than those in mineralized bone with transitions to 0 g and during recovery once back to the loading provided by 1 g conditions. However, joint injuries are projected to occur much more often than the more catastrophic bone fracture during exploration class missions, so protecting the integrity of both tissues is important. This review focuses on the research performed over the last 20 years in humans and animals exposed to actual spaceflight, as well as on knowledge gained from pertinent ground-based models such as bed rest in humans and hindlimb unloading in rodents. Significant progress has been made in our understanding of the mechanisms for alterations in bone and connective tissues with exposure to microgravity, but intriguing questions remain to be solved, particularly with reference to biomedical risks associated with prolonged exploration missions.

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Interplanetary crew dose estimates for worst case solar particle events based on historical data for the Carrington flare of 1859

Cited by 37 publications

References 5 publications

Long-Term Dose Response of Trabecular Bone in Mice to Proton Radiation

Long-Term Dose Response of Trabecular Bone in Mice to Proton Radiation

The Carrington event: Possible doses to crews in space from a comparable event

Microgravity Stress: Bone and Connective Tissue

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