Upgrading of some instrumentation devoted to increase space radiation environment understanding

Abstract

Three methods permitting to characterize space and onboard spacecraft radiation environment have been developed and/or upgraded in our laboratories: MDU equipment with a semiconductor detector as sensitive element devoted to register energy deposition spectra in the Si-diode; a spectrometer of the linear energy transfer (LET) based on chemically etched polyallyldiglycolcarbonate (PADC) track etch detectors (TED); and thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) with different dependences of relative TL yield on the LET of particles transferring their energy in them. We have used all these types of dosimetry equipments onboard spacecrafts since several years and succeeded to treat directly read data in terms of both quantitative and qualitative dosimetry characteristics and deduce from them related radiation risk. During last few years all these three types of detectors have been intensely studied to understand still better their possibilities to characterize space radiation fields. Particularly: 1. Both PADC TED LET spectrometer and TLDs have been exposed in heavier ion beams with LET in water ranging from 1 to about 700 keV/μm with the goal to upgrade their calibration curves; 2. A new method of MDU directly read data has been developed, permitting to measure not only dose in Si-detector, but also to estimate radiation protection quantities and the neutron contribution to the onboard exposure level; 3. All three methods have been tested onboard spacecrafts during several missions. Contribution presents, analyses and discusses the results obtained in items 1–3 and, also, the possibilities of these detectors to help in characterizing radiation fields during longer space missions, above 1 year.