AREA PASSIVE DOSIMETER FOR LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS IN SPACE (AREA PADLES)
Research Area: Radiation Impacts on Humans
Expedition(s): 17-ongoing
Principal Investigator(s): ● Aiko Nagamatsu, PhD, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,
Tsukuba, Japan
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
JAXA Area Passive Dosimeter for Life Science
Experiments in Space (Area PADLES) is an
investigation that uses area dosimeters to
continuously monitor the radiation dose aboard
the International Space Station (ISS). Radiation
exposure can have significant biological effects on
living organisms, and on the biological
investigations being done on ISS and on the
Japanese Experiment Module Kibo; therefore, by
installing area dosimeters at 17 fixed locations
inside the Kibo Module, continuous area
radiation monitoring can be provided throughout
the ISS Kibo program.
EARTH BENEFIT
The dosimeters have been applied to dosimetry for radiobiology experiments and ground
performance test for study of shielding effect with heavy-ion particles. Dosimetric methods are
also used for area radiation monitoring due to high energy accelerators.
SPACE BENEFIT
The measurement of radiation environmental parameters in
space is essential to support radiation risk assessment for
crew members and to be a benchmark of simulation codes of
space radiation models for present, and future, human space
activities. Full understanding of space radiation, and the
doses surrounding crew members, is essential to dose
management and space radiation protection. Accumulated
data and knowledge are beneficial to design new active and
passive types of radiation monitoring, shielding, and the
design of future space vehicles.
RESULTS
Radiation monitoring system was flown aboard Soyuz
spacecraft, installed in the Kibo module aboard the ISS with Area and Exp PADLES dosimeters
and collected data. Results from returned dosimeters found that the particle fluxes change
more than twice depending on the installation orientation, since space radiation environment
in low-Earth orbit aren't isotropic.
JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa holding Area
PADLES. NASA/JAXA image.(^40) μm
A photograph featuring 256
gray-level images of etch pits
on the post-etching surfaces of
the CR-39 PNTDs in package
No. 1 of Area PADLES#6 on the
FWD OVHD. JAXA image.