The Sileye3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the investigation of the light flash phenomenon and ... more The Sileye3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the investigation of the light flash phenomenon and particle composition of the cosmic ray spectrum inside the ISS. The particle detector is a silicon telescope consisting of eight planes, each divided into 32 strips. Data acquisition was initiated in 2002 in the Russian Pirs module. The data on nuclei from C to Fe in the energy range above about 60 MeV/n presented here were taken as part of the ESA Altcriss project [1] from late 2005 through 2007. Here we report on LET, from different locations and orientations, in both the Pirs and Zvezda modules. Taking solar modulation into account the results are in agreement with ALTEA measurements from USLab [2]. To convert the energy deposition in Si to the equivalent in water, the logarithmic relation between LET in Si and water adopted from [3]. In Fig. 1, the LET spectra in water for Alteino and ALTEA are compared with DOSTEL spectrum from 2001 [4], and we see a good overall agreement. We are currently in the process of preparing a detailed paper on the dose and dose equivalent rates in different places inside the Zvezda and Pirs modules and a novel analysis of the contribution to the different doses as a function of strip hit multiplicity.
ALTEA-Space is the principal in-space experiment of an international and multidisciplinary projec... more ALTEA-Space is the principal in-space experiment of an international and multidisciplinary project called ALTEA (Anomalus Long Term Effects on Astronauts). The measurements were performed on the International Space Station between August 2006 and July 2007 and aimed at characterising the space radiation environment inside the station. The analysis of the collected data provided the abundances of elements with charge 5
Using the B-I color index in the radial photometry of M51 we detect an asymmetric sawtooth-like s... more Using the B-I color index in the radial photometry of M51 we detect an asymmetric sawtooth-like shape in the density pattern of the galactic arms, similar to that produced by a progressive wave traveling in a preexisting spiral pattern. We suggest that M51 could be a spiral galaxy before the encounter with the companion.
The solar system exploration by humans requires to successfully deal with the radiation expositio... more The solar system exploration by humans requires to successfully deal with the radiation exposition issue. The scientific aspect of this issue is twofold: knowing the radiation environment the astronauts are going to face and linking radiation exposure to health risks. Here we focus on the first issue. It is generally agreed that the final tool to describe the radiation environment in a space habitat will be a model featuring the needed amount of details to perform a meaningful risk assessment. The model should also take into account the shield changes due to the movement of materials inside the habitat, which in turn produce changes in the radiation environment. This model will have to undergo a final validation with a radiation field of similar complexity. The International Space Station (ISS) is a space habitat that features a radiation environment inside which is similar to what will be found in habitats in deep space, if we use measurements acquired only during high latitude passages (where the effects of the Earth magnetic field are reduced). Active detectors, providing time information, that can easily select data from different orbital sections, are the ones best fulfilling the requirements for these kinds of measurements. The exploitation of the radiation measurements performed in the ISS by all the available instruments is therefore mandatory to provide the largest possible database to the scientific community, to be merged with detailed Computer Aided Design (CAD) models, in the quest for a full model validation. While some efforts in comparing results from multiple active detectors have been attempted, a thorough study of a procedure to merge data in a single data matrix in order to provide the best validation set for radiation environment models has never been attempted. The aim of this paper is to provide such a procedure, to apply it to two of the most performing active detector systems in the ISS: the Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts (ALTEA) instrument and the DOSimetry TELescope (DOSTEL) detectors, applied in the frame of the DOSIS and DOSIS 3D project onboard the ISS and to present combined results exploiting the features of each of the two apparatuses.
Passive radiation shielding is a mandatory element in the design of an integrated solution to mit... more Passive radiation shielding is a mandatory element in the design of an integrated solution to mitigate the effects of radiation during long deep space voyages for human exploration. Understanding and exploiting the characteristics of materials suitable for radiation shielding in space flights is, therefore, of primary importance. We present here the results of the first space-test on Kevlar and Polyethylene radiation shielding capabilities including direct measurements of the background baseline (no shield). Measurements are performed on-board of the International Space Station (Columbus modulus) during the ALTEA-shield ESA sponsored program. For the first time the shielding capability of such materials has been tested in a radiation environment similar to the deep-space one, thanks to the feature of the ALTEA system, which allows to select only high latitude orbital tracts of the International Space Station. Polyethylene is widely used for radiation shielding in space and therefore...
The project ALTEA-shield/survey is part of an European Space Agency (ESA)-ILSRA (International Li... more The project ALTEA-shield/survey is part of an European Space Agency (ESA)-ILSRA (International Life Science Research Announcement) program and provides a detailed study of the International Space Station (ISS) (USLab and partly Columbus) radiation environment. The experiment spans over 2 years, from September 20, 2010 to September 30, 2012, for a total of about 1.5 years of effective measurements. The ALTEA detector system measures all heavy ions above helium and, to a limited extent, hydrogen and helium (respectively, in 25 Mev-45 MeV and 25 MeV/n-250 MeV/n energy windows) while tracking every individual particle. It measures independently the radiation along the three ISS coordinate axes. The data presented consist of flux, dose, and dose equivalent over the time of investigation, at the different surveyed locations. Data are selected from the different geographic regions (low and high latitudes and South Atlantic Anomaly, SAA). Even with a limited acceptance window for the proton contribution, the flux/dose/dose equivalent results as well as the radiation spectra provide information on how the radiation risks change in the different surveyed sites. The large changes in radiation environment found among the measured sites, due to the different shield/mass distribution, require a detailed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model to be used together with these measurements for the validation of radiation models in space habitats. Altitude also affects measured radiation, especially in the SAA. In the period of measurements, the altitude (averaged over each minute) ranged from 339 km to 447 km. Measurements show the significant shielding effect of the ISS truss, responsible for a consistent amount of reduction in dose equivalent (and so in radiation quality). Measured Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) dose rates at high latitude range from 0.354 ± 0.002 nGy/s to 0.770 ± 0.006 nGy/s while dose equivalent from 1.21 ± 0.04 nSv/s to 6.05 ± 0.09 nSv/s. The radiation variation over the SAA is studied. Even with the reduced proton sensitivity, the high day-by-day variability, as well as the strong altitude dependence is clearly observed. The ability of filtering out this contribution from the data is presented as a tool to construct a radiation data set well mimicking deep space radiation, useful for model validations and improvements.
The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) sinc... more The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) since 2006 [from August 2006 for 12 months, and from June 2009 to present]. The detector is able to measure energy released and trajectory of ions from H (within a 25-45 MeV input energy window) to Mo (relativistic). Real Time and off line software packages have
In general, radiation exposure represents one of the greatest risks to humans traveling on explor... more In general, radiation exposure represents one of the greatest risks to humans traveling on exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The ALTEA detector (ALTEA-Shield experiment) is used to measure the radiation environment in different places of the ISS-USLab. ALTEA-Shield is part of the ALTEA program, a multidisciplinary research project which aims at obtaining a better understanding of the radiation environment on board the International Space Station, and also at studying the interaction between cosmic rays and the astronauts visual system. The ALTEA-Shield/Survey experiment, financed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and sponsored by ESA, uses the six particle detectors (SDUs, Silicon Detector Units) of ALTEA arranged on a 3D isotropic support. It is capable to measure cosmic ray particles coming from three different directions, being able to give an overview on the particle fluxes (in a detectable energy range between 3 and 900 keV/um) in different locations of the USL...
The increment of space mission duration requires investigation of the possible functional effects... more The increment of space mission duration requires investigation of the possible functional effects of space environment on the Central Nervous System The most evident effect is the anomalous perception of phosphenes light flashes LF due to the passages of ionizing nuclei through nervous tissues The ALTEA program has been developed to conduct this investigation It is an international and multi-disciplinary
The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) sinc... more The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) since 2006 [from August 2006 for 12 months, and from June 2009 to present]. The detector is able to measure energy released and trajectory of ions from H (within a 25-45 MeV input energy window) to Mo (relativistic). Real Time and off line software packages have
The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) program is devoted to characterize the radi... more The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) program is devoted to characterize the radiation environment on board the International Space Station and to study the effects on astronauts of cosmic ray exposure, with a focus on the Light Flash phenomenon. The ALTEA-space experiment includes six silicon telescopes arranged in a 3D structure, capable to determine the energy loss and
ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) is a multidisciplinary project aimed at studyin... more ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) is a multidisciplinary project aimed at studying the cosmic rays and their effects on the astronauts during the space missions, with a focus on the Light Flashes phenomenon. The ALTEA-Space is the main space experiment of the ALTEA project and its goal is the characterization of the radiation environment inside the International Space
The ALTEA program is aimed at studying the interaction between cosmic radiations and astronaut... more The ALTEA program is aimed at studying the interaction between cosmic radiations and astronaut's cerebral functions, with a specific focus on the anomalous perception of Light Flashes in space. ALTEA-Space, the main on-space experiment of the ALTEA project, is devoted to investigate this phenomenon directly in space, detecting the charged particles that hit the astronaut's head concurrently with his/her brain
High-energy charged particles represent a severe radiation risk for astronauts and spacecrafts an... more High-energy charged particles represent a severe radiation risk for astronauts and spacecrafts and could damage ground critical infrastructures related to space services. Different natural sources are the origin of these particles, among them galactic cosmic rays, solar energetic particles and particles trapped in radiation belts. Solar particle events (SPE) consist in the emission of high-energy protons, alpha-particles, electrons and heavier particles from solar flares or shocks driven by solar plasma propagating through the corona and interplanetary space. Ground-level enhancements (GLE) are rare solar events in which particles are accelerated to near relativistic energies and affect space and ground-based infrastructures. During the current solar cycle 24 a single GLE event was recorded on May 17th, 2012 associated with an M5.1-class solar flare. The investigation of such a special class of solar events permits us to measure conditions in space critical to both scientific and operational research. This event, classified as GLE71, was detected on board the International Space Station (ISS) by the active particle detectors of the ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts) experiment. The collected data permit us to study the radiation environment inside the ISS. In this work we present the first results of the analysis of data acquired by ALTEA detectors during GLE71 associated with an M5.1-class solar flare. We estimate the energy loss spectrum of the solar particles and evaluate the contribution to the total exposure of ISS astronauts to solar high-energy charged particles.
One of the major aims of the ALTEA program is to study the anomalous phosphenes per-ceptions repo... more One of the major aims of the ALTEA program is to study the anomalous phosphenes per-ceptions reported by astronauts since Apollo 11 lunar flight. This is pursued via space and ground-based experiments. The ALTEA detection systems in the ISS allow concurrent mea-surement of the particles travelling through the brain/eyes of the astronauts (discriminating Z and trajectory of the ions), as
The Sileye3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the investigation of the light flash phenomenon and ... more The Sileye3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the investigation of the light flash phenomenon and particle composition of the cosmic ray spectrum inside the ISS. The particle detector is a silicon telescope consisting of eight planes, each divided into 32 strips. Data acquisition was initiated in 2002 in the Russian Pirs module. The data on nuclei from C to Fe in the energy range above about 60 MeV/n presented here were taken as part of the ESA Altcriss project [1] from late 2005 through 2007. Here we report on LET, from different locations and orientations, in both the Pirs and Zvezda modules. Taking solar modulation into account the results are in agreement with ALTEA measurements from USLab [2]. To convert the energy deposition in Si to the equivalent in water, the logarithmic relation between LET in Si and water adopted from [3]. In Fig. 1, the LET spectra in water for Alteino and ALTEA are compared with DOSTEL spectrum from 2001 [4], and we see a good overall agreement. We are currently in the process of preparing a detailed paper on the dose and dose equivalent rates in different places inside the Zvezda and Pirs modules and a novel analysis of the contribution to the different doses as a function of strip hit multiplicity.
ALTEA-Space is the principal in-space experiment of an international and multidisciplinary projec... more ALTEA-Space is the principal in-space experiment of an international and multidisciplinary project called ALTEA (Anomalus Long Term Effects on Astronauts). The measurements were performed on the International Space Station between August 2006 and July 2007 and aimed at characterising the space radiation environment inside the station. The analysis of the collected data provided the abundances of elements with charge 5
Using the B-I color index in the radial photometry of M51 we detect an asymmetric sawtooth-like s... more Using the B-I color index in the radial photometry of M51 we detect an asymmetric sawtooth-like shape in the density pattern of the galactic arms, similar to that produced by a progressive wave traveling in a preexisting spiral pattern. We suggest that M51 could be a spiral galaxy before the encounter with the companion.
The solar system exploration by humans requires to successfully deal with the radiation expositio... more The solar system exploration by humans requires to successfully deal with the radiation exposition issue. The scientific aspect of this issue is twofold: knowing the radiation environment the astronauts are going to face and linking radiation exposure to health risks. Here we focus on the first issue. It is generally agreed that the final tool to describe the radiation environment in a space habitat will be a model featuring the needed amount of details to perform a meaningful risk assessment. The model should also take into account the shield changes due to the movement of materials inside the habitat, which in turn produce changes in the radiation environment. This model will have to undergo a final validation with a radiation field of similar complexity. The International Space Station (ISS) is a space habitat that features a radiation environment inside which is similar to what will be found in habitats in deep space, if we use measurements acquired only during high latitude passages (where the effects of the Earth magnetic field are reduced). Active detectors, providing time information, that can easily select data from different orbital sections, are the ones best fulfilling the requirements for these kinds of measurements. The exploitation of the radiation measurements performed in the ISS by all the available instruments is therefore mandatory to provide the largest possible database to the scientific community, to be merged with detailed Computer Aided Design (CAD) models, in the quest for a full model validation. While some efforts in comparing results from multiple active detectors have been attempted, a thorough study of a procedure to merge data in a single data matrix in order to provide the best validation set for radiation environment models has never been attempted. The aim of this paper is to provide such a procedure, to apply it to two of the most performing active detector systems in the ISS: the Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts (ALTEA) instrument and the DOSimetry TELescope (DOSTEL) detectors, applied in the frame of the DOSIS and DOSIS 3D project onboard the ISS and to present combined results exploiting the features of each of the two apparatuses.
Passive radiation shielding is a mandatory element in the design of an integrated solution to mit... more Passive radiation shielding is a mandatory element in the design of an integrated solution to mitigate the effects of radiation during long deep space voyages for human exploration. Understanding and exploiting the characteristics of materials suitable for radiation shielding in space flights is, therefore, of primary importance. We present here the results of the first space-test on Kevlar and Polyethylene radiation shielding capabilities including direct measurements of the background baseline (no shield). Measurements are performed on-board of the International Space Station (Columbus modulus) during the ALTEA-shield ESA sponsored program. For the first time the shielding capability of such materials has been tested in a radiation environment similar to the deep-space one, thanks to the feature of the ALTEA system, which allows to select only high latitude orbital tracts of the International Space Station. Polyethylene is widely used for radiation shielding in space and therefore...
The project ALTEA-shield/survey is part of an European Space Agency (ESA)-ILSRA (International Li... more The project ALTEA-shield/survey is part of an European Space Agency (ESA)-ILSRA (International Life Science Research Announcement) program and provides a detailed study of the International Space Station (ISS) (USLab and partly Columbus) radiation environment. The experiment spans over 2 years, from September 20, 2010 to September 30, 2012, for a total of about 1.5 years of effective measurements. The ALTEA detector system measures all heavy ions above helium and, to a limited extent, hydrogen and helium (respectively, in 25 Mev-45 MeV and 25 MeV/n-250 MeV/n energy windows) while tracking every individual particle. It measures independently the radiation along the three ISS coordinate axes. The data presented consist of flux, dose, and dose equivalent over the time of investigation, at the different surveyed locations. Data are selected from the different geographic regions (low and high latitudes and South Atlantic Anomaly, SAA). Even with a limited acceptance window for the proton contribution, the flux/dose/dose equivalent results as well as the radiation spectra provide information on how the radiation risks change in the different surveyed sites. The large changes in radiation environment found among the measured sites, due to the different shield/mass distribution, require a detailed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model to be used together with these measurements for the validation of radiation models in space habitats. Altitude also affects measured radiation, especially in the SAA. In the period of measurements, the altitude (averaged over each minute) ranged from 339 km to 447 km. Measurements show the significant shielding effect of the ISS truss, responsible for a consistent amount of reduction in dose equivalent (and so in radiation quality). Measured Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) dose rates at high latitude range from 0.354 ± 0.002 nGy/s to 0.770 ± 0.006 nGy/s while dose equivalent from 1.21 ± 0.04 nSv/s to 6.05 ± 0.09 nSv/s. The radiation variation over the SAA is studied. Even with the reduced proton sensitivity, the high day-by-day variability, as well as the strong altitude dependence is clearly observed. The ability of filtering out this contribution from the data is presented as a tool to construct a radiation data set well mimicking deep space radiation, useful for model validations and improvements.
The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) sinc... more The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) since 2006 [from August 2006 for 12 months, and from June 2009 to present]. The detector is able to measure energy released and trajectory of ions from H (within a 25-45 MeV input energy window) to Mo (relativistic). Real Time and off line software packages have
In general, radiation exposure represents one of the greatest risks to humans traveling on explor... more In general, radiation exposure represents one of the greatest risks to humans traveling on exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The ALTEA detector (ALTEA-Shield experiment) is used to measure the radiation environment in different places of the ISS-USLab. ALTEA-Shield is part of the ALTEA program, a multidisciplinary research project which aims at obtaining a better understanding of the radiation environment on board the International Space Station, and also at studying the interaction between cosmic rays and the astronauts visual system. The ALTEA-Shield/Survey experiment, financed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and sponsored by ESA, uses the six particle detectors (SDUs, Silicon Detector Units) of ALTEA arranged on a 3D isotropic support. It is capable to measure cosmic ray particles coming from three different directions, being able to give an overview on the particle fluxes (in a detectable energy range between 3 and 900 keV/um) in different locations of the USL...
The increment of space mission duration requires investigation of the possible functional effects... more The increment of space mission duration requires investigation of the possible functional effects of space environment on the Central Nervous System The most evident effect is the anomalous perception of phosphenes light flashes LF due to the passages of ionizing nuclei through nervous tissues The ALTEA program has been developed to conduct this investigation It is an international and multi-disciplinary
The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) sinc... more The ALTEA silicon detector system has been active in the International Space Station (USLab) since 2006 [from August 2006 for 12 months, and from June 2009 to present]. The detector is able to measure energy released and trajectory of ions from H (within a 25-45 MeV input energy window) to Mo (relativistic). Real Time and off line software packages have
The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) program is devoted to characterize the radi... more The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) program is devoted to characterize the radiation environment on board the International Space Station and to study the effects on astronauts of cosmic ray exposure, with a focus on the Light Flash phenomenon. The ALTEA-space experiment includes six silicon telescopes arranged in a 3D structure, capable to determine the energy loss and
ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) is a multidisciplinary project aimed at studyin... more ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) is a multidisciplinary project aimed at studying the cosmic rays and their effects on the astronauts during the space missions, with a focus on the Light Flashes phenomenon. The ALTEA-Space is the main space experiment of the ALTEA project and its goal is the characterization of the radiation environment inside the International Space
The ALTEA program is aimed at studying the interaction between cosmic radiations and astronaut... more The ALTEA program is aimed at studying the interaction between cosmic radiations and astronaut's cerebral functions, with a specific focus on the anomalous perception of Light Flashes in space. ALTEA-Space, the main on-space experiment of the ALTEA project, is devoted to investigate this phenomenon directly in space, detecting the charged particles that hit the astronaut's head concurrently with his/her brain
High-energy charged particles represent a severe radiation risk for astronauts and spacecrafts an... more High-energy charged particles represent a severe radiation risk for astronauts and spacecrafts and could damage ground critical infrastructures related to space services. Different natural sources are the origin of these particles, among them galactic cosmic rays, solar energetic particles and particles trapped in radiation belts. Solar particle events (SPE) consist in the emission of high-energy protons, alpha-particles, electrons and heavier particles from solar flares or shocks driven by solar plasma propagating through the corona and interplanetary space. Ground-level enhancements (GLE) are rare solar events in which particles are accelerated to near relativistic energies and affect space and ground-based infrastructures. During the current solar cycle 24 a single GLE event was recorded on May 17th, 2012 associated with an M5.1-class solar flare. The investigation of such a special class of solar events permits us to measure conditions in space critical to both scientific and operational research. This event, classified as GLE71, was detected on board the International Space Station (ISS) by the active particle detectors of the ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts) experiment. The collected data permit us to study the radiation environment inside the ISS. In this work we present the first results of the analysis of data acquired by ALTEA detectors during GLE71 associated with an M5.1-class solar flare. We estimate the energy loss spectrum of the solar particles and evaluate the contribution to the total exposure of ISS astronauts to solar high-energy charged particles.
One of the major aims of the ALTEA program is to study the anomalous phosphenes per-ceptions repo... more One of the major aims of the ALTEA program is to study the anomalous phosphenes per-ceptions reported by astronauts since Apollo 11 lunar flight. This is pursued via space and ground-based experiments. The ALTEA detection systems in the ISS allow concurrent mea-surement of the particles travelling through the brain/eyes of the astronauts (discriminating Z and trajectory of the ions), as
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Papers by Luca Di Fino