Scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) have recreated cosmic radiation conditions using the NICA collider to test the safety of two new materials for cosmonaut cabins on the ISS. The experiment lasted several days with the participation of employees of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMBP). This was reported to socialbites.ca in JINR.
The radiation level on the International Space Station is 250 times higher than on the ground background. In calm conditions, without spacewalks, even on days without solar flares, astronauts are exposed to high levels of radiation.
According to scientists, in recent years, it has emerged that the cabins where astronauts spend most of their time on the ISS are less protected from radiation than other rooms. Therefore, it was important to propose a solution to the problem.
At the NICA collider, the experts were able to irradiate two composite materials 1 and 2 (the composition of the materials was classified).
We were looking forward to the start of this session, when particles with “our” energies would appear in the NICA complex: up to a few GeV per nucleon. It is they who make it possible to simulate cosmic radiation, receive streams of these particles: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, xenon and others. According to Vyacheslav Shurshakov, head of the radiation safety department for manned space flights at IBMP RAS, NICA for us is a kind of cosmic radiation simulator that affects, among other things, spacecraft crews.
According to the results of the experiment, a series of studies and tests are reportedly prepared. Now scientists are conducting an activation analysis of irradiated samples to determine the degree of activation of elements in the composition of the material under the influence of heavy core rays. Structural changes in these two materials will also be evaluated.