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Airline crews flying long-distance high-altitude routes can be exposed to 2.2 mSv of extra radiation each year due to cosmic rays, nearly doubling their total exposure to ionizing radiation. Average annual radiation exposure ( millisieverts )
There are three fundamental ways to reduce exposure to ionizing radiation: [32] increasing the distance from the radiation source; reducing the exposure time; shielding (i.e.: a physical barrier) Shielding is a plausible option, but due to current launch mass restrictions, it is prohibitively costly.
Hypotheses include Cherenkov radiation created as the cosmic ray particles pass through the vitreous humour of the astronauts' eyes, [4] [5] direct interaction with the optic nerve, [4] direct interaction with visual centres in the brain, [6] retinal receptor stimulation, [7] and a more general interaction of the retina with radiation. [8]
Almost all radiation will be received while passing the inner belt. [43] The Apollo missions marked the first event where humans traveled through the Van Allen belts, which was one of several radiation hazards known by mission planners. [44] The astronauts had low exposure in the Van Allen belts due to the short period of time spent flying ...
G-616, formally known as GAS canister #G-616: The Effect of Cosmic Radiation on Static Computer Media & Plant Seeds Exposure to Microgravity was an experiment flown on the Space Shuttle as a self-contained experiment, as part of STS-40.
Radiation has also recently been linked to a higher incidence of cataracts in astronauts. Outside the protection of low Earth orbit, galactic cosmic rays present further challenges to human spaceflight, [45] as the health threat from cosmic rays significantly increases the chances of cancer over a decade or more of exposure. [46]
Historical milestones in cosmic ray astronomy inclue Victor Hess's discovery of cosmic rays during balloon flights in 1912; [6] the identification of new subatomic particles like the positron and muon in the 1930s, expanding our understanding of particle physics; [7] Pierre Victor Auger's discovery of extensive particle showers from cosmic ray ...
Flying 12 km (39,000 ft) high, passengers and crews of jet airliners are exposed to at least 10 times the cosmic ray dose that people at sea level receive. Every few years, a geomagnetic storm permits a solar particle event to penetrate down to jetliner altitudes. Aircraft flying polar routes near the geomagnetic poles are at particular risk.