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" SPACE STATION SENDS BACK FIRST RADIATION DATA " [FW]
-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Kellogg [mailto:lkellogg@mail.arc.nasa.gov]
Sent: Friday June 29, 2001 7:56 PM
To: Franta, Jaroslav
Cc: larrykellogg@mindspring.com; Gary; Gary Varney
Subject: Fwd: SPACE STATION SENDS BACK FIRST RADIATION DATA
For your information, from Larry Kellogg, lunar-update list.
>Resent-Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 07:43:12 -0700 (PDT)
>X-Sender: ahutchison@mail.arc.nasa.gov
>Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 07:26:32 -0700
>To: ames-releases@lists.arc.nasa.gov
>From: "NASANEWS@Ames" <nasanews@mail.arc.nasa.gov>
>Subject: SPACE STATION SENDS BACK FIRST RADIATION DATA
>
>
> Ann Hutchison June
29, 2001
>Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
>(Phone: 650/604-3039 or 604-9000)
>ahutchison@mail.arc.nasa.gov
>
>Release: 01-42AR
>
>SPACE STATION SENDS BACK FIRST RADIATION DATA
>
>The first series of radiation data collected inside the
>International Space Station (ISS) has been transmitted from space to
>scientists on Earth eager to assess its potential biomedical impacts
>and implications for future research.
>
>The data were collected in May by radiation detectors on the ISS
>known as thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs). An onboard electronic
>reader read the data earlier this month and ISS astronaut James Voss
>transmitted it to scientists on Earth. The TLDs are part of a set of
>radiation-monitoring hardware known as the Passive Dosimeter System
>(PDS), which was developed by the Space Station Biological Research
>Project at NASA Ames Research Center and the Hungarian Space Office.
>The ability to accurately measure and monitor radiation exposure is
>important both to crew health and to future scientific research on
>the ISS.
>
>"This is very good news," exulted project science lead Kristofer
>Vogelsong of Lockheed Martin Engineering and Sciences at NASA Ames,
>in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. "The quality of the
>data indicates that the reader is functioning normally." Space
>Shuttle Discovery ferried the TLDs to the ISS in March.
>
>The Passive Dosimeter System is a flexible, easy-to-use radiation
>monitoring system that is available for use by researchers from the
>U.S. or ISS partner nations. It complements existing dosimeters used
>in routine ISS operations. The dosimeters can be placed anywhere in
>the ISS to provide an accurate measurement of the radiation levels
>at their locations.
>
>Vogelsong said the data indicate that all 12 TLDs currently in use
>are in perfect condition. The detectors are a third-generation
>version of dosimeters that flew on the Russian space stations Salyut
>7 and Mir, and on the space shuttle.
>
>NASA scientists expect to receive a preliminary interpretation soon
>of the radiation dose onboard the ISS from the Hungarian Space
>Office. A complete picture of the space station's radiation
>environment will not be available until a second type of dosimeter,
>known as Plastic Nuclear Track Detectors (PNTDs), is returned to
>Earth on an August space shuttle flight. The data from the TLDs will
>be combined with the data from the PNTDs and other radiation
>monitors as part of the Dosimetric Mapping Experiment (DOSMAP) to
>characterize the space radiation environment on board the space
>station. The DOSMAP experiment is being conducted by Dr. Guenther
>Reitz and is managed by the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at
>NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston.
>
>The PNTDs -- thin sheets of plastic similar to the material used for
>some eyeglass lenses -- were delivered to the ISS last April. The
>PNTD surface becomes pitted with tiny craters as heavy charged ions
>pass through it. After the detectors are returned to Earth, the
>plastic will be etched to enlarge the craters, which will be counted
>and their shapes and sizes analyzed using a microscope. This
>information is used to improve the accuracy of the radiation dose
>the TLDs have recorded and to improve the estimate of the biological
>effects of the radiation. Eril Research, San Rafael, CA, developed
>and will analyze the PNTDs.
>
>Each TLD, which resembles a fat fountain pen, contains calcium
>sulfate crystals inside an evacuated glass bulb. The crystals absorb
>energy from incident ionizing radiation (protons, neutrons,
>electrons, heavy charged particles, gamma rays and x-rays) as the
>radiation passes through them. This process results in a steady
>increase in the energy level of the electrons in the crystal.
>
>"We are happy the Passive Dosimeter System appears to be working
>well," said PDS payload manager Robert Jackson of Ames. "We expect
>that support to the DOSMAP experiment will be followed in future
>years by continued use for many experiments on the space station."
>
>Images of the TLDs are available at:
>http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov:8080/releases/2001/01images/thermolum/thermolu
m.html
>
>-end-
>
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--
Larry R. Kellogg
lkellogg@mail.arc.nasa.gov
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov
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