Space radiation during interplanetary travel

[exe-c]

Hi all! :tiphat:

A two months ago I visited a conference dedicated to high-power energy flows (both microwave and laser). It was very boring except one report dedicated to manned trip to mars. lecturer put a special attention to problem of high power space radiation. While low-power rays is harmful for peoples (especially for eyes), high power iones can ever damage a solar sells or any other semiconductor device. In case that trip is very long and there are no way to give any extra supply to astronauts that problem seems very important to find a solution. Lecturer says that hull able to resist that rays is too weightly to being use is space.

So, can anybody suggest a solution?

 

[n72.75]

Hi all! :tiphat:

A two months ago I visited a conference dedicated to high-power energy flows (both microwave and laser). It was very boring except one report dedicated to manned trip to mars. lecturer put a special attention to problem of high power space radiation. While low-power rays is harmful for peoples (especially for eyes), high power iones can ever damage a solar sells or any other semiconductor device. In case that trip is very long and there are no way to give any extra supply to astronauts that problem seems very important to find a solution. Lecturer says that hull able to resist that rays is too weightly to being use is space.

So, can anybody suggest a solution?

You can use water, in tanks for photon shielding; and you can use a magnetic field to protect from high energy partials with mass(ions, electrons, positrons).

 

[exe-c]

You can use water, in tanks for photon shielding; and you can use a magnetic field to protect from high energy partials with mass(ions, electrons, positrons).

Ye, but water have a high weight too. Magnetic field is good idea. And another problem is lack of natural magnetic field. I also heard about that fact that lack of earth manetic field may affect creature's behavior. Scientists conduct an experiment: they reduced a magnetic field to about zero in a special chamber, then they put some rats here. Rats behavior were completly different from it's behavior in normal life. They can't 'choose' a leader and spent all the time in fights with each. After experiment they have been moved in normal conditions, and they returns to his normal life without enchanced agression. So magnetic field may be an important thing too.

 

[Donamy]

Hydrogen would be lighter, and fuel as well.

 

[T.Neo]

If you have to avoid expensive and potentially unbuildable-with-current-knowledge magnetic shields, you can attempt to use small amounts of polyethylene (plastic) shielding. Polyethylene is a good material for shielding against charged particles since it is hydrogen-rich and thus is less susceptible to spalling (essentially, particles knock off more particles and the shielding thus actually makes the problem worse). It is also a light material.

You must then have a storm shelter for events such as solar flares etc. You can make this shelter with more shielding as it is a smaller space (just enough for a few days of camping out, not long-term living).
You can use more polyethylene shielding and/or you could position the storm shelter within water and/or propellant tanks for extra protection.

As for other structures (such as photovoltaic cells), robotic interplanetary spacecraft have to deal with this regularly. While there are things that could be done (use solar concentrators instead of photovoltaics perhaps?), you cannot totally avoid it.

But a magnetic field is indeed an attractive concept.

 

[Ark]

Has anybody run experiments or built prototypes for magnetic shielding? Creating large, powerful magnetic fields isn't exactly a new concept. If anything, generating enough power to run the shield would be a bigger challenge than building one.

 

[Andy44]

Nuclear power should be able to create the mag field. I would think the bigger problem would be operating the ship's instruments and systems in the presence of this field all the time. Even your wristwatch could be harmed by it.

 

[JamesG]

Superconducting capacitor? Energy storage and field generator all in one?

Or at the opposite extreme, using the magnetic containment field of a torus fusion reactor?

 

[rseferino]

I remember a documentary "Voyage to the Planets" which spoke of using a magnetic field around the crew compartment to guard against the charged particles.

With regard to neutron shielding reminds me of a battle tank model, which to protect yourself from the neutron rebestido a nuke was a layer of uranium neutrons absorbed and goes into low speed nuclear fission with fast neutrons releasing heat.

 

[Lunar Pilot]

Magnetic Fields

What if you use magnetic fields outrigged around the spacecraft, overlapping, so that you still have the protective magnetic fields, but none of the electronics are in the magnetic field.