Light Flashes Observed by Astronauts on Apollo 11 through Apollo 17

Pinsky, L. S.; Osborne, W. Z.; Bailey, J. V.; Benson, R. E.; Thompson, L. F.

doi:10.1126/science.183.4128.957

Cited by 91 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In agreement with theoretical prediction (Tobias, 1952), astronauts exposed to cosmic radiation while dark-adapted during orbital flights and prolonged space missions on Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle and MIR reported abnormal visual percepts (described as 'light flashes') occurring in different shapes and with varying orientation when moving across the visual field Pinsky et al, 1974Pinsky et al, , 1975. Early human studies in accelerators (Charman et al, 1971;Tobias et al, 1971;Charman and Rowlands, 1971;McAulay, 1971;McNulty, 1971;McNulty et al, 1972;Budinger et al, 1972;McNulty et al, 1978) and experiments performed by our group in the MIR space station (SiEyel; SiEye2) suggest a correlation with increased particle flux in the eye and complementary mechanisms related to heavy nuclei and protons (Bidoli et al, 2001;Avdeev et al, 2002;Casolino et al, 2003).…”

Section: Background and Rationalesupporting

confidence: 62%

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

Sannita

Acquaviva

Ball

et al. 2004

Advances in Space Research

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Section: Background and Rationalesupporting

confidence: 62%

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

Sannita

Acquaviva

Ball

et al. 2004

Advances in Space Research

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“…First evidence of these effects came from reports of visual phosphenes, described as sudden "light flashes", first reported by Buzz Aldrin after the first Moon landing and then by almost all the astronauts in the Apollo programme. 127 Light flashes are believed to be produced by a direct interaction of an energetic charged particle with the retina or the eye, as confirmed by studies in space 128 and in dedicated experiments in cancer patients treated with C-ions using spot-scanning. 129 The observation of light flashes brought attention to the possible effects of charged particles on the brain function.…”

Section: Late Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New challenges in high-energy particle radiobiology

Durante

2014

BJR

122

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Densely ionizing radiation has always been a main topic in radiobiology. In fact, a-particles and neutrons are sources of radiation exposure for the general population and workers in nuclear power plants. More recently, high-energy protons and heavy ions attracted a large interest for two applications: hadrontherapy in oncology and space radiation protection in manned space missions. For many years, studies concentrated on measurements of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the energetic particles for different end points, especially cell killing (for radiotherapy) and carcinogenesis (for late effects). Although more recently, it has been shown that densely ionizing radiation elicits signalling pathways quite distinct from those involved in the cell and tissue response to photons. The response of the microenvironment to charged particles is therefore under scrutiny, and both the damage in the target and non-target tissues are relevant. The role of individual susceptibility in therapy and risk is obviously a major topic in radiation research in general, and for ion radiobiology as well. Particle radiobiology is therefore now entering into a new phase, where beyond RBE, the tissue response is considered. These results may open new applications for both cancer therapy and protection in deep space.Biological effects of densely ionizing radiation have been studied since the beginning of radiobiology. As a matter of fact, a-particles deliver the main contribution to the background radiation dose on Earth, owing to inhalation of the indoor radon.1 Neutrons have also been extensively studied because of protection of workers in nuclear power plants; use of fast neutrons in radiotherapy; and of the exposure of the survivors of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where a neutron component was added to g-rays. Bacq and Alexander 2 already elegantly described the radiobiology of a-particles and neutrons in their 1955 seminal book.More recently, radiobiology research has focused on highenergy protons and heavy ions, mostly for two reasons: charged particle therapy (CPT) in oncology and radiation protection in manned space missions. In both cases, charged particles at energies .100 MeV n 21 are involved. The characteristic depth-dose distribution with the sharp Bragg peak at the end of the range can be exploited for killing tumours; on the other hand, densely ionizing radiation can effectively delay tissue morbidity. Notwithstanding the many differences in exposure conditions, CPT and space radiation protection share several research topics, including individual sensitivity, non-targeted effects, late stochastic effects and so forth.3 Research in these fields requires large high-energy accelerators and is often performed by the same research groups with a common interest in particle radiobiology. Research is rapidly moving forward owing to the diffusion of CPT centres in the USA, Europe, and Asia 4 and to the growing interest in manned space exploration, now a priority for all space agencies, 5 but wi...

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“…Light flashes were observed by the astronauts during the early Apollo missions and dedicated experiments subsequently performed on later Apollo and Skylab missions (Pinsky et al 1974). More recently, studies of light flashes have been made on the Russian Mir space station and the International Space Station (ISS) (Narici 2008;Sannita et al 2004).…”

Section: B Review Of Space Flight Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose- and ApoE Isoform-Dependent Cognitive Injury after Cranial⁵⁶Fe Irradiation in Female Mice

Villasana¹,

Dayger²,

Raber

2013

Radiation Research

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Light Flashes Observed by Astronauts on Apollo 11 through Apollo 17

Cited by 91 publications

References 5 publications

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

New challenges in high-energy particle radiobiology

Dose- and ApoE Isoform-Dependent Cognitive Injury after Cranial⁵⁶Fe Irradiation in Female Mice

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Light Flashes Observed by Astronauts on Apollo 11 through Apollo 17

Cited by 91 publications

References 5 publications

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

New challenges in high-energy particle radiobiology

Dose- and ApoE Isoform-Dependent Cognitive Injury after Cranial56Fe Irradiation in Female Mice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Dose- and ApoE Isoform-Dependent Cognitive Injury after Cranial⁵⁶Fe Irradiation in Female Mice