Measurements of Energetic Particle Radiation in Transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory
C. Zeitlin(Southwest Research Institute), Donald M. Hassler(Southwest Research Institute), Francis A. Cucinotta(Johnson Space Center), Bent Ehresmann(Southwest Research Institute), R. F. Wimmer‐Schweingruber(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), D. E. Brinza(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), S. B. Kang(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Gerald Weigle(Southwest Research Institute), S. Böttcher(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), E. Böhm(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), Söenke Burmeister(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), Jingnan Guo(Johnson Space Center), Jan Köhler(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), César Martı́n(Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), A. Posner, S. C. Rafkin(Southwest Research Institute), G. Reitz(Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR))
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Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, containing the Curiosity rover, was launched to Mars on 26 November 2011, and for most of the 253-day, 560-million-kilometer cruise to Mars, the Radiation Assessment Detector made detailed measurements of the energetic particle radiation environment inside the spacecraft. These data provide insights into the radiation hazards that would be associated with a human mission to Mars. We report measurements of the radiation dose, dose equivalent, and linear energy transfer spectra. The dose equivalent for even the shortest round-trip with current propulsion systems and comparable shielding is found to be 0.66 ± 0.12 sievert.
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