Natural Radiation Shielding on Mars Measured With the MSL/RAD Instrument
Open accessAbstract
Protecting astronauts from the effects of space radiation remains one major stepping stone for the exploration of Mars. Long‐term exposure to radiation can lead to severe health effects and affects allowable mission duration. Mission designs for Mars include the use of radiation shelters that provide additional mass to surround the astronauts. This leads to incoming radiation losing energy through ionization processes. This is important during solar energetic particle events when solar protons can reach the surface with high intensities. Additionally, shelters provide a long‐term reduction of the exposure to galactic cosmic rays. As mass is an important time and cost factor in space travel, using natural sheltering already on Mars is a desirable option. One candidate is to use subterranean lava tubes that provide shelter from the radiation from above. Other options include craters, cliff walls, or rock overhangs. Here, we present the first in situ measurements of radiation sheltering by natural environments on the surface of Mars. The data were acquired with the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on board the Curiosity rover in Gale crater on Mars. We show measurements from when Curiosity was parked close to Butte M12 in the Murray Buttes formation, which blocked out 19% of the surrounding sky view. During this time, from Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) sol 1456–1467, we find a decrease of 4% in the expected dose rate, and a decrease of 7.5% in the neutral particle environment. This proof of principle is an important step to validate plans to use natural sheltering on Mars.
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An existing geological structure such as a simple butte may serve as a potential radiation shelter for future habitats on Mars.
“This is the first direct illustration that an existing geological structure such as a simple butte may serve as a potential radiation shelter for future habitats on Mars (Ehresmann et al. 2021;Guo et al. 2021).”
From Radiation environment for future human exploration on the surface of Mars: the current understanding based on MSL/RAD dose measurements (2021) · cites this paper as Ehresmann et al. 2021
The Introduction describes the Butte M12 measurements as the first in situ evidence of radiation sheltering by a natural rock formation on Mars. The Summary and Conclusions says smaller buttes could provide temporary shelter during off-base excursions, but identifies underground lava tubes—not buttes—as the most promising base locations. It therefore supports the sheltering potential, but not the specific suggestion of a butte as shelter for a future habitat. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSheltering at the vicinity of a butte can be useful for field excursions away from habitats, as suggested by RAD observations during the time Curiosity was parked in the Murray buttes region.
“When planning for field excursions away from such habitats, sheltering at the vicinity of a butte can also be useful, as suggested by the RAD observations during the time Curiosity was parked in the Murray buttes region (Ehresmann et al. 2021;Guo et al. 2021, and see Sect. 5).”
From Radiation environment for future human exploration on the surface of Mars: the current understanding based on MSL/RAD dose measurements (2021) · cites this paper as Ehresmann et al. 2021
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Cites
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- Authors
- Ehresmann, B., Hassler, D. M., Zeitlin, C., Guo, J., Wimmer‐Schweingruber, R. F., Khaksari, S., & Loeffler, S.
- Affiliations
- Southwest Research Institute (US)
- Leidos (United States) (US)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics Christian‐Albrechts‐University Kiel Germany
- Corresponding author
- Ehresmann, B.
- Venue
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2021-08
- Volume
- 126
- Issue
- 8
- ISSN
- 2169-9097 (ISSN-L)
- 2169-9100
- OpenAlex
- W3190201770
- Semantic Scholar
- c85c723e258a3a02b520dba4684d558c390a21cc
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1273039)
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (50QM0501, 50QM1201, 50QM1701)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Planetary Science and Exploration
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Keywords
- Mars radiation environment, Mars surface, solar energetic particles, galactic cosmic rays, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity rover, Radiation Assessment Detector, lava tubes, Gale Crater, astronaut radiation protection, dose rate
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