Monte Carlo calculation of the exposure of Chinese female astronauts to earth’s trapped radiation on board the Chinese Space Station

Abstract

With the development of China's crewed space mission, the space radiation risk for astronauts is increasingly prominent. The aim of this paper is to simulate the radiation doses in a Chinese female voxel phantom onboard the China Space Station (CSS) by Monte Carlo N Particle (MCNP) simulation. The absorbed dose, equivalent dose, and effective dose in voxel phantom and in its’ critical organs with different shielding of Tianhe core module are discussed. Then, the risk of space-radiation exposure is assessed by comparing the doses with the current risk limits at China (skin dose limit at short term low-earth-orbit missions) and NASA (NCRP Report No. 98) for female astronaut. The results obtained can be used to guide and optimize the radiation protection in the manned space missions.