Update on the Worsening Particle Radiation Environment Observed by CRaTER and Implications for Future Human Deep‐Space Exploration
Abstract
Over the last decade, the solar wind has exhibited low densities and magnetic field strengths, representing anomalous states that have never been observed during the space age. As discussed by Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084 ), the cycle 23–24 solar activity led to the longest solar minimum in more than 80 years and continued into the “mini” solar maximum of cycle 24. During this weak activity, we observed galactic cosmic ray fluxes that exceeded theERobserved small solar energetic particle events. Here we provide an update to the Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084 ) observations from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084 ) study examined the evolution of the interplanetary magnetic field and utilized a previously published study by Goelzer et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JA019404 ) projecting out the interplanetary magnetic field strength based on the evolution of sunspots as a proxy for the rate that the Sun releases coronal mass ejections. This led to a projection of dose rates from galactic cosmic rays on the lunar surface, which suggested a ∼20% increase of dose rates from one solar minimum to the next and indicated that the radiation environment in space may be a worsening factor important for consideration in future planning of human space exploration. We c…
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The event was clearly seen by the CRaTER instrument orbiting the Moon.
“This was the first SPE observed inside the ISS since May 2012 and in addition it was an event which has been clearly seen by the CRaTER instrument orbiting Moon (Schwadron et al. 2018) and by the MSL-RAD instrument on the surface of Mars where it contributed around 418 µGy in Si of additional dose.”
From The Solar Particle Event on 10 September 2017 as observed onboard the International Space Station (ISS) (2018) · cites this paper as Schwadron et al. 2018
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- Authors
- Schwadron, N. A., Rahmanifard, F., Wilson, J., Jordan, A. P., Spence, H. E., Joyce, C. J., Blake, J. B., Case, A. W., de Wet, W., Farrell, W. M., Kasper, J. C., Looper, M. D., Lugaz, N., Mays, L., Mazur, J. E., Niehof, J., Petro, N., Smith, C. W., Townsend, L. W., Winslow, R., & Zeitlin, C.
- Affiliations
- Ames Research Center (US)
- University of New Hampshire (US)
- The Aerospace Corporation (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Department of Nuclear Engineering University of Tennessee Knoxville TN USA
- University of Michigan (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USA
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Leidos (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schwadron, N. A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Space Weather
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2018-03
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 289-303
- ISSN
- 1542-7390 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2789370718
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 11
- FWCI
- 4.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Space Weather (publishedVersion)
- University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- LRO (NNG11PA03C)
- EMMREM (NNX07AC14G)
- C-SWEPA (NNX07AC14G)
- Sun-2-Ice (AGS1135432)
- DoSEN (NNX13AC89G)
- DREAM2 (NNX14AG13A)
- NASA STTR Phases 1 and 2 (NNX15CG52P)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Keywords
- galactic cosmic rays, solar minimum, solar cycle 23-24, interplanetary magnetic field, solar energetic particle events, craters, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, radiation dose rate, low-energy ions, radiation shielding, solar activity forecasting, coronal mass ejections
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