Assessment of Shielding Material Performance for Deep Space Missions

2004 ◽  
Vol 851 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. K. Mansur ◽  
B. J. Frame ◽  
N. C. Gallego ◽  
S. B. Guetersloh ◽  
J. O. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
Radiation Risk ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽  
Shielding Effectiveness ◽  
Deep Space ◽  
Structural Support ◽  
Initial Work

ABSTRACTRadiation doses from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are a significant issue for spacecraft crew exposures in deep space. We report initial work to evaluate a range of materials for GCR shielding. Earlier work has shown that conventional spacecraft materials, aluminum and higher atomic number structural alloys, provide relatively little shielding and, under certain conditions, may increase radiation risk. Materials containing high proportions of hydrogen and other low atomic mass nuclei provide improved GCR shielding. Polyethylene (PE) is generally considered a good performance benchmark shield material. However, PE shielding occupies volume and adds mass to the spacecraft. In this work we investigate several materials that are shown to provide shielding similar to PE, but which could furnish additional spacecraft functions, possibly eliminating the need for materials currently used for structural support or thermal management. Carbon forms that can incorporate a large mass of hydrogen, as well as polymers and polymer composites are being explored. Calculations of shielding effectiveness in GCR spectra have been carried out. Experiments to measure shielding properties recently have been completed at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) using high energy beans of O16. In this paper we report preliminary shielding results.

Cardiovascular effects of space radiation: implications for future human deep space exploration

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 1707-1714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Mitchell ◽  
Dominic Pimenta ◽  
Jaspal Gill ◽  
Haris Ahmad ◽  
Richard Bogle
Keyword(s):  
Space Exploration ◽  
Radiation Risk ◽  
Space Radiation ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽  
Radiation Shielding ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Deep Space ◽  
Deep Space Exploration ◽  
Low Earth Orbits

Background A manned mission to Mars has been contemplated by the world's largest space agencies for a number of years. The duration of the trip would necessitate a much longer exposure to deep space radiation than any human has ever been exposed to in the past. Concern regarding cancer risk has thus far stalled the progress of deep space exploration; however, the effect of space radiation on the cardiovascular system is significantly less well understood. Discussion Damage by radiation in space is mediated by a number of sources, including X-rays, protons and heavier charged atomic nuclei (HZE ions, the high-energy component of galactic cosmic rays). Previously, only lunar mission astronauts have been exposed to significant deep space radiation, with all other missions being low earth orbits only. The effect of this radiation on the human body has been inconclusively studied, and the long-term damage caused to the vascular endothelium by this radiation due to the effect of high-energy particles is not well known. Conclusion Current radiation shielding technology, which would be viable for use in spacecraft, would not eliminate radiation risk. Similar to how a variety of shielding techniques are used every day by radiographers, again without full risk elimination, we need to explore and better understand the effect of deep space radiation in order to ensure the safety of those on future space missions.

Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis on a Synchrotron Radiation Wiggler Beam Line

1991 ◽  
Vol 35 (B) ◽  
pp. 995-1000
Author(s):  
J.V. Gilfrich ◽  
E.F. Skelton ◽  
S.B. Qadri ◽  
N.E. Moulton ◽  
D.J. Nagel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synchrotron Radiation ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Incident Beam ◽  
Fluorescence Analysis ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Beam Line ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Electron Orbit

AbstractIt has been well established over recent years that synchrotron radiation possesses some unique features as a source of primary x-rays for x-ray fluorescence analysis. Advantage has been taken of the high intensity emanating from the bending magnets of storage rings to develop x-ray microprobes utilizing apertures or focussing optics, or both, to provide a beam spot at the specimen of the order of micrometers. The use of insertion devices wigglers and undulatora, can further increase the available intensity, especially for the high energy photons. Beam Line X-17C at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, accepts the unmodified continuum radiation from a superconducting wiggler in the storage ring. Some initial XRF measurements have been made on this beam line using apertures in the 10 to 100 micrometer range. The fluorescent radiation was measured by an intrinsic Ge detector having an energy resolution of 300 eV at 15 kev, and located at 90° to the incident beam in the plane of the electron orbit. In samples containing many elements, detection limits of a few ppm were achieved with 100 μm beams.

scholarly journals Chiral Magnetic Effects in Nuclear Collisions

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Gang Wang
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
Hadron Collider ◽  
Transport Phenomena ◽  
Heavy Ion ◽  
Gluon Plasma ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider ◽  
Nuclear Collisions ◽  
Chiral Magnetic Effect

The interplay of quantum anomalies with strong magnetic fields and vorticity in chiral systems could lead to novel transport phenomena, such as the chiral magnetic effect (CME), the chiral magnetic wave (CMW), and the chiral vortical effect (CVE). In high-energy nuclear collisions, these chiral effects may survive the expansion of a quark–gluon plasma fireball and be detected in experiments. The experimental searches for the CME, the CMW, and the CVE have aroused extensive interest over the past couple of decades. The main goal of this article is to review the latest experimental progress in the search for these novel chiral transport phenomena at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Future programs to help reduce uncertainties and facilitate the interpretation of the data are also discussed.

scholarly journals Long-Term Changes in Cognition and Physiology after Low-Dose 16O Irradiation

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis Howe ◽  
Frederico Kiffer ◽  
Tyler C. Alexander ◽  
Vijayalakshmi Sridharan ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Object Recognition ◽  
Dentate Gyrus ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Space Radiation ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Novel Object Recognition ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Y Maze

Astronauts traveling to Mars will be exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation upon leaving low-Earth orbit. During prolonged space travel, astronauts are exposed to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) composed of protons; oxygen molecules; and high energy, high mass charged particles. Notably, oxygen molecules can travel through the shielding of spacecraft, potentially impacting 25% of the hippocampus. The aim of the current study was to assess whether 16O-particle radiation induced a behavioral deficit and histological changes in mice. Mice were sent to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory and exposed to particulate 16O radiation at doses of 0 and 0.05 Gy. Nine months after irradiation, the mice were tested for novel object recognition and in the Y-maze, after which the animals were sacrificed. The brains were then dissected along the midsagittal plane for Golgi staining. Exposure to 0.05 Gy significantly impaired novel object recognition. However, short term memory and exploratory activity in the Y-maze were not affected. Micromorphometric analysis revealed significant decreases in mushroom spine density in the dentate gyrus and cornu Ammonis-1 and -3 of the hippocampus. Sholl analysis revealed a significant decrease in dendritic complexity in the dentate gyrus. The present data provide evidence that space radiation has deleterious effects on mature neurons associated with hippocampal learning and memory.

scholarly journals HEPCloud, an Elastic Hybrid HEP Facility using an Intelligent Decision Support System

2019 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 03060
Author(s):  
Parag Mhashilkar ◽  
Mine Altunay ◽  
Eileen Berman ◽  
David Dagenhart ◽  
Stuart Fuess ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
Support System ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Primary System ◽  
Intelligent Decision Support System ◽  
Intelligent Decision ◽  
Intelligent Decision Support

HEPCloud is rapidly becoming the primary system for provisioning compute resources for all Fermilab-affiliated experiments. In order to reliably meet the peak demands of the next generation of High Energy Physics experiments, Fermilab must plan to elastically expand its computational capabilities to cover the forecasted need. Commercial cloud and allocation-based High Performance Computing (HPC) resources both have explicit and implicit costs that must be considered when deciding when to provision these resources, and at which scale. In order to support such provisioning in a manner consistent with organizational business rules and budget constraints, we have developed a modular intelligent decision support system (IDSS) to aid in the automatic provisioning of resources spanning multiple cloud providers, multiple HPC centers, and grid computing federations. In this paper, we discuss the goals and architecture of the HEPCloud Facility, the architecture of the IDSS, and our early experience in using the IDSS for automated facility expansion both at Fermi and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

In Situ Monitoring of the Electrochemical Absorption of Deuterium into Palladium by X-Ray Diffraction using Synchrotron-Wiggler Radiation

1998 ◽  
Vol 524 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Dominguez ◽  
P. L. Hagans ◽  
E. F. Skelton ◽  
S. B. Qadri ◽  
D. J. Nagel
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
In Situ Monitoring ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Β Phase ◽  
Metallic Sample

ABSTRACTWith low energy x-rays, such as those from a Cu x-ray tube, only the outer few microns of a metallic sample can be probed. This low penetrating power prohibits structural studies from being carried out on the interior of an electrode in an electrochemical cell because of absorption by the cell material, electrodes and the electrolyte. The work described in this paper circumvents this problem by utilizing high energy, high brightness x-rays produced on the superconducting wiggler beam line, X-17C, at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The penetrating power of the higher energy x-rays allowed Pd diffraction spectra to be obtained in-situ on a 1 mm diameter Pd wire cathode during electrolysis of heavy water. Moreover, the beam (28 × 28 μm in cross-section) allowed diffraction spectra to be acquired as a function of distance across the sample. Spectra were recorded in 50 μm steps from the edge of the Pd wire to its core. This was done at 2 minute intervals as a function of electrolysis time. The α-β phase transition induced in the Pd while deuterium was electrochemically absorbed was observed by monitoring the Pd-(422) diffraction peaks. Results allowed the diffusion rate and the diffusivity of deuterium atoms in the Pd wire to be determined. Other features of the structural changes associated with the absorption of deuterium into Pd are reported.

scholarly journals Space radiation-associated lung injury in a murine model

2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (5) ◽  
pp. L416-L428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou ◽  
Ralph A. Pietrofesa ◽  
Evguenia Arguiri ◽  
Kelly S. Schweitzer ◽  
Evgeny V. Berdyshev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Injury ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Space Radiation ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽  
Sirtuin 1 ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Solar Particle Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dose Dependent

Despite considerable progress in identifying health risks to crewmembers related to exposure to galactic/cosmic rays and solar particle events (SPE) during space travel, its long-term effects on the pulmonary system are unknown. We used a murine risk projection model to investigate the impact of exposure to space-relevant radiation (SR) on the lung. C3H mice were exposed to 137Cs gamma rays, protons (acute, low-dose exposure mimicking the 1972 SPE), 600 MeV/u 56Fe ions, or 350 MeV/u 28Si ions at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Animals were irradiated at the age of 2.5 mo and evaluated 23.5 mo postirradiation, at 26 mo of age. Compared with age-matched nonirradiated mice, SR exposures led to significant air space enlargement and dose-dependent decreased systemic oxygenation levels. These were associated with late mild lung inflammation and prominent cellular injury, with significant oxidative stress and apoptosis (caspase-3 activation) in the lung parenchyma. SR, especially high-energy 56Fe or 28Si ions markedly decreased sphingosine-1-phosphate levels and Akt- and p38 MAPK phosphorylation, depleted anti-senescence sirtuin-1 and increased biochemical markers of autophagy. Exposure to SR caused dose-dependent, pronounced late lung pathological sequelae consistent with alveolar simplification and cellular signaling of increased injury and decreased repair. The associated systemic hypoxemia suggested that this previously uncharacterized space radiation-associated lung injury was functionally significant, indicating that further studies are needed to define the risk and to develop appropriate lung-protective countermeasures for manned deep space missions.

Recombinant Science: The Birth of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Crease
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Physics ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Heavy Ion ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider ◽  
Very High Energy ◽  
To Come ◽  
High Energy Regime

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory was the first facility to move the subfield of nuclear physics into the relativistic (very high-energy) regime. From the time of its formal proposal in 1984 to the start of its operation in 2000, it anchored a profound reconfiguration of Brookhaven's mission. This article analyzes the process by which RHIC came to seem the best solution to a problem thrust upon the Brookhaven laboratory administration by the planning and funding demands of the early 1980s, which required creative reconfiguration of resources and programs from long-established national laboratories accustomed to pursuing particular kinds of science. The RHIC story is an example of "recombinant science," as Catherine Westfall has labeled it, which does not occur as a natural outgrowth of previous research. In the recombinant science that gave birth to RHIC, the ends as well as the means arose as the result of contingencies and convergences that required researchers from multiple subfields to adapt their intentions and methods, sometimes awkwardly. Against a backdrop of limited budgets, increasing oversight, and competitive claims from other labs and projects, this case study illustrates how many strands had to come together simultaneously in RHIC, including changes in theoretical interest, experimental developments, and the existence of hardware assets---plus leadership and several lucky breaks.

X-Ray Microscopy Of Multiphase Polymeric Materials

1996 ◽  
Vol 437 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ade ◽  
A. P. Smith ◽  
G. R. Zhuang ◽  
B. Wood ◽  
I. Plotzker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Brookhaven National Laboratory ◽  
Energy Calibration ◽  
High Energy Resolution ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Scanning Transmission ◽  
Spectral Fidelity

AbstractWe have utilized the scanning transmission x-ray microscope at Brookhaven National Laboratory to acquire high energy resolution spectra of various polymers and to investigate the bulk characteristics of multiphasic polymeric materials with chemical sensitivity at a spatial resolution of about 50 nm. We present studies ranging from phase separated liquid crystalline polyesters and polyurethanes to various polymer blends. Improvements in the NEXAFS imaging and spectral acquisition protocol in the recent past provide much improved spectral fidelity and include in situ energy calibration with CO2.

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