Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics

Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics
Author: Laurence R. Young
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-01-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9783319121901

This comprehensive encyclopedia serves the needs of biomedical researchers, space mission planners and engineers, aerospace medicine physicians, graduate students, and professors interested in obtaining an up-to-date and readable introduction to bioastronautics, the science of humans in space. Following the excitement and progress of the birth of the space age in the fifties and sixties, with the successes in human space flight – culminating with the Moon landings – the field of bioastronautics retreated into the more workmanlike arena of successively longer stays in low Earth orbit. At this time, major new initiatives are ahead both in human and robotic space exploration. The International Space Station, along with the developing Chinese space station and lunar program, will permit the development and testing of the means of astronaut protection for long duration missions – eventually to Mars and its moons, as well as visits to asteroids, other NEOs, and the Lagrange points. New life support systems and innovative approaches to radiation protection beyond Earth’s magnetic field will all be developed and tested. Meanwhile, the search for extraterrestrial life, past or even present, is accelerating – with the spectacular finds of Martian water and the discovery of potentially habitable extra-solar planets. A new generation of scientists is ready to attack a new set of problems, and is in need of an efficient, accurate and searchable means of discovering the essentials of the field. This reference work also covers the challenges, past achievements, and potential solutions inherent to the safe exploration of distant space and the search for life off our planet. The entries summarize the tertiary literature and include sufficient data and illustrations to introduce each topic, while avoiding the length and detail of scientific review articles.

Electromagnetic Radiation in Space

Electromagnetic Radiation in Space
Author: J.G. Emming
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401035261

The subject of this volume in the Astrophysics and Space Science Library is Electro magnetic Radiation in Space. It is essentially based on the lectures given at the third ESRO Summer School which was held from 19 July to 13 August, 1965, in Alpbach, Austria. Fifty-eight selected students attended the courses representing the following countries: Austria (2), Belgium (1), Denmark (1), France (12), Germany (10), Italy (7), Netherlands (2), Spain (4), Sweden (6), Switzerland (3), United Kingdom (9), United States (1). Thirteen lectures courses and nine seminars were given by sixteen different scientists in total. In this book the courses and seminars have been classified in three parts according to the kind of radiation which they mainly deal with: Ultraviolet Radiation, X Radiation and Cosmic Radiation. These parts can be broken down further in theo retical and observational aspects, whereas in the first and second part solar as well as stellar ultraviolet- and X-radiation can be distinguished. * Due to various reasons the publication of this volume had to be delayed; it was therefore judged appropriate to bring the text up to date. The various lecturers have been asked to revise the manuscripts and to eventually add new information which has been acquired in this rapidly evolving field of space astrophysics. Most authors have responded positively to this request, some even have completely rewritten the manuscript.

Testing at the Speed of Light

Testing at the Speed of Light
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 89
Release: 2018-06-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030947082X

Spacecraft depend on electronic components that must perform reliably over missions measured in years and decades. Space radiation is a primary source of degradation, reliability issues, and potentially failure for these electronic components. Although simulation and modeling are valuable for understanding the radiation risk to microelectronics, there is no substitute for testing, and an increased use of commercial-off-the- shelf parts in spacecraft may actually increase requirements for testing, as opposed to simulation and modeling. Testing at the Speed of Light evaluates the nation's current capabilities and future needs for testing the effects of space radiation on microelectronics to ensure mission success and makes recommendations on how to provide effective stewardship of the necessary radiation test infrastructure for the foreseeable future.

Cosmic Rays at Earth

Cosmic Rays at Earth
Author: P.K.F. Grieder
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1117
Release: 2001-07-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080530052

In 1912 Victor Franz Hess made the revolutionary discovery that ionizing radiation is incident upon the Earth from outer space. He showed with ground-based and balloon-borne detectors that the intensity of the radiation did not change significantly between day and night. Consequently, the sun could not be regarded as the sources of this radiation and the question of its origin remained unanswered. Today, almost one hundred years later the question of the origin of the cosmic radiation still remains a mystery.Hess' discovery has given an enormous impetus to large areas of science, in particular to physics, and has played a major role in the formation of our current understanding of universal evolution. For example, the development of new fields of research such as elementary particle physics, modern astrophysics and cosmology are direct consequences of this discovery. Over the years the field of cosmic ray research has evolved in various directions: Firstly, the field of particle physics that was initiated by the discovery of many so-called elementary particles in the cosmic radiation. There is a strong trend from the accelerator physics community to reenter the field of cosmic ray physics, now under the name of astroparticle physics. Secondly, an important branch of cosmic ray physics that has rapidly evolved in conjunction with space exploration concerns the low energy portion of the cosmic ray spectrum. Thirdly, the branch of research that is concerned with the origin, acceleration and propagation of the cosmic radiation represents a great challenge for astrophysics, astronomy and cosmology. Presently very popular fields of research have rapidly evolved, such as high-energy gamma ray and neutrino astronomy. In addition, high-energy neutrino astronomy may soon initiate as a likely spin-off neutrino tomography of the Earth and thus open a unique new branch of geophysical research of the interior of the Earth. Finally, of considerable interest are the biological and medical aspects of the cosmic radiation because of it ionizing character and the inevitable irradiation to which we are exposed. This book is a reference manual for researchers and students of cosmic ray physics and associated fields and phenomena. It is not intended to be a tutorial. However, the book contains an adequate amount of background materials that its content should be useful to a broad community of scientists and professionals. The present book contains chiefly a data collection in compact form that covers the cosmic radiation in the vicinity of the Earth, in the Earth's atmosphere, at sea level and underground. Included are predominantly experimental but also theoretical data. In addition the book contains related data, definitions and important relations. The aim of this book is to offer the reader in a single volume a readily available comprehensive set of data that will save him the need of frequent time consuming literature searches.

Space Radiation and Astronaut Safety

Space Radiation and Astronaut Safety
Author: Erik Seedhouse
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-04-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783319746142

This brief explores the biological effects of long-term radiation on astronauts in deep space. As missions progress beyond Earth's orbit and away from the protection of its magnetic shielding, astronauts risk constant exposure to higher levels of galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. The text concisely addresses the full spectrum of biomedical consequences from exposure to space radiation and goes on to present possible ways to mitigate such dangers and protect astronauts within the limitations of existing technologies.

Space Physics and Aeronomy, Space Weather Effects and Applications

Space Physics and Aeronomy, Space Weather Effects and Applications
Author: Anthea J. Coster
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2021-04-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 111950757X

Examines how solar and terrestrial space phenomena affect sophisticated technological systems Contemporary society relies on sophisticated technologies to manage electricity distribution, communication networks, transportation safety, and myriad other systems. The successful design and operation of both ground-based and space-based systems must consider solar and terrestrial space phenomena and processes. Space Weather Effects and Applications describes the effects of space weather on various present-day technologies and explores how improved instrumentation to measure Earth's space environment can be used to more accurately forecast changes and disruptions. Volume highlights include: Damage and disruption to orbiting satellite equipment by solar particles and cosmic rays Effects of space radiation on aircraft at high altitudes and latitudes Response of radio and radar-based systems to solar bursts Disturbances to the propagation of radio waves caused by space weather How geomagnetic field changes impact ground-based systems such as pipelines Impacts of human exposure to the space radiation environment The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals. Find out more about the Space Physics and Aeronomy collection in this Q&A with the Editors in Chief

Radiation and the International Space Station

Radiation and the International Space Station
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2000-03-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309068851

A major objective of the International Space Station is learning how to cope with the inherent risks of human spaceflightâ€"how to live and work in space for extended periods. The construction of the station itself provides the first opportunity for doing so. Prominent among the challenges associated with ISS construction is the large amount of time that astronauts will be spending doing extravehicular activity (EVA), or "space walks." EVAs from the space shuttle have been extraordinarily successful, most notably the on-orbit repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. But the number of hours of EVA for ISS construction exceeds that of the Hubble repair mission by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the ISS orbit has nearly twice the inclination to Earth's equator as Hubble's orbit, so it spends part of every 90-minute circumnavigation at high latitudes, where Earth's magnetic field is less effective at shielding impinging radiation. This means that astronauts sweeping through these regions will be considerably more vulnerable to dangerous doses of energetic particles from a sudden solar eruption. Radiation and the International Space Station estimates that the likelihood of having a potentially dangerous solar event during an EVA is indeed very high. This report recommends steps that can be taken immediately, and over the next several years, to provide adequate warning so that the astronauts can be directed to take protective cover inside the ISS or shuttle. The near-term actions include programmatic and operational ways to take advantage of the multiagency assets that currently monitor and forecast space weather, and ways to improve the in situ measurements and the predictive power of current models.

Solar Cosmic Rays

Solar Cosmic Rays
Author: L.I. Miroshnichenko
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401596468

It turned out to be really a rare and happy occasion that we know exact1y when and how a new branch of space physics was born, namely, a physics of solar cosmic rays. It happened on February 28 and March 7, 1942 when the fIrst "cosmic ray bursts" were recorded on the Earth, and the Sun was unambiguously identifIed for the fIrst time as the source of high-velocity 10 particles with energies up to > 10 eV. Just due to such a high energy these relativistic particles have been called "solar cosmic rays" (SCR), in distinction from the "true" cosmic rays of galactic origin. Between 1942 and the beginning ofthe space era in 1957 only extremely high energy solar particle events could be occasionally recorded by cosmic ray ground-Ievel detectors and balloon borne sensors. Since then the detection techniques varied considerably and the study of SCR turned into essential part of solar and solar-terrestrial physics.