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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Human exposure to large solar particle events in space

Whenever energetic solar protons produced by solar particle events traverse bulk matter, they undergo various nuclear and atomic collision processes which significantly alter the physical characteristics and biologically important properties of their transported radiation fields. These physical interactions and their effect on the resulting radiation field within matter are described within the context of a recently developed deterministic, coupled neutron-proton space radiation transport computer code (BRYNTRN). Using this computer code, estimates of human exposure in interplanetary space, behind nominal (2 g/sq cm) and storm shelter (20 g/sq cm) thicknesses of aluminum shielding, are made for the large solar proton event of August 1972. Included in these calculations are estimates of cumulative exposures to the skin, ocular lens, and bone marrow as a function of time during the event. Risk assessment in terms of absorbed dose and dose equivalent is discussed for these organs. Also presented are estimates of organ exposures for hypothetical, worst-case flare scenarios. The rate of dose equivalent accumulation places this situation in an interesting region of dose rate between the very low values of usual concern in terrestrial radiation environments and the high-dose-rate values prevalent in radiation therapy.

Townsend, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Isotopic Composition of Trapped and Cosmogenic Noble Gases in Several Martian Meteorites

Isotopic abundances of the noble gases were measured in the following Martian meteorites: two shock glass inclusions from EET79001, shock vein glass from Shergotty and Y793605, and whole rock samples of ALH84001 and QUE94201. These glass samples, when combined with literature data on a separate single glass inclusion from EET79001 and a glass vein from Zagami, permit examination of the isotopic composition of Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe trapped from the Martian atmosphere in greater detail. The isotopic composition of Martian Ne, if actually present in these glasses, remains poorly defined. The Ar-40/Ar-36 ratio of Martian atmospheric Ar may be much less than the ratio measured by Viking and possibly as low as approx. 1900. The atmospheric Ar-36/Ar-38 ratio is less than or equal to 4.0. Martian atmospheric Kr appears to be enriched in lighter isotopes by approx. 0.4%/amu compared to both solar wind Kr and to the Martian composition previously reported. The Martian atmospheric Ar-36/Xe-132 and Kr-84/Xe-132 Xe elemental ratios are higher than those reported by Viking by factors of approx. 3.3 and approx. 2.5, respectively. Cosmogenic gases indicate space exposure ages of 13.9 +/- 1 Myr for ALH84001 and 2.7 +/- 0.6 Myr for QUE94201. Small amounts of Ne-21 produced by energetic solar protons may be present in QUE94201, but are not present in ALH84001 or Y793605. The space exposure age for Y793605 is 4.9 +/- 0.6 Myr and appears to be distinctly older than the ages for basaltic shergottites.

Garrison, Daniel H.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SPHINX: A Generalized Tool for Solar Energetic Particle Model Validation

The Integrated Solar Energetic Proton Alert/Warning (ISEP) project was established to aid in the transition of SEP models from the research realm to operational use. This project is a collaboration between the NASA Community Coordinated Model Center (CCMC), the NASA Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office (M2M) and the NASA Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG). Through ISEP, the SEP Scoreboards (Intensity, Probability, and All Clear) were developed to visualize real time forecasts from SEP models for use in SRAG operations. To accomplish this, SRAG, CCMC, and M2M work closely with modelers on model development, CCMC works on Scoreboard implementation, and M2M provides human-in-the-loop space weather analysis and ensures that models run in real time.

space weather↗
NASA NTRS1975

Anisotropy measurements of nearly 50 KeV solar protons

The Energetic Particles Experiment on IMP-7 measures the angular distribution of 50-200 keV solar protons in 16 sectors. The velocity of 50 keV protons may be less than 5 times that of the solar wind. A generalized nonlinear Compton-Getting point transformation into the co-moving frame that contains no assumptions as to the angular distribution of either the spectrum or intensity is presented. Nearly 50 keV proton data in the spacecraft frame exhibit an anisotropy ratio that is large (not less than 5) and radial throughout the October 29, 1972 event lasting more than 9 days at this energy. This anisotropy argues against impulsive injection and diffusive decay in the inner solar system. Application of the transformation to the data reveals a long lasting residual anisotropy in the co-moving frame with protons streaming from the sun. Differences between the co-moving frame and solar wind frame velocities suggest residual electric fields upstream from the bow shock.

Gold, R. E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NAIRAS Model Nowcasting and Forecasting of the Aviation Radiation Environment

The Nowcast of Aerospace Ionizing RAdiation System (NAIRAS) predicts dosimetric quantities for quantifying human radiation exposure and differential/integral flux/fluence quantities for assessing single event effects (SEE) in avionic systems from galactic cosmic rays (GCR), trapped inner belt protons, and solar energetic particle (SEP) events from the Earth’s surface to the space environment. Real-time predictions of the aviation radiation environment are available at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) integrated Space Weather Analysis (iSWA) data feeds and cygnets, and a run-on-request (RoR) capability has also been deployed at CCMC. Recent model improvements include a more accurate atmospheric ionizing radiation transport methodology and more robust and reliable SEP nowcast dose predictions. In addition, preliminary results of SEP dose forecasts are shown by coupling the University of Malaga Solar Energetic Particle (UMASEP) model of integral proton flux forecasts with the NAIRAS model. These model updates and improvements are presented, and results are shown for aircraft, high-latitude balloon, and low-Earth orbit flights during quiescent and solar-geomagnetic disturbed conditions. Model comparisons with flight measurements are also shown.

NAIRAS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Energetic protons from a disappearing solar filament

A solar energetic (E 50 MeV) particle (SEP) event observed at 1 AU began about 15000 UT on 1981 December 5. This event was associated with a fast coronal mass ejection observed with the Solwind coronagraph on the P78-1 satellite. No metric type 2 or type 4 burst was observed, but a weak interplanetary type 2 burst was observed with the low frequency radio experiment on the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 satellite. The mass ejection was associated with the eruption of a large solar quiescent filament which lay well away from any active regions. The eruption resulted in an H alpha double ribbon structure which straddled the magnetic inversion line. No impulsive phase was obvious in either the H alpha or the microwave observations. This event indicates that neither a detectable impulsive phase nor a strong or complex magnetic field is necessary for the production of energetic ions.

Kahler, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Observations related to the acceleration, injection, and interplanetary propagation of energetic protons during the solar cosmic ray event on February 16, 1984

This paper presents an analysis of data collected by the worldwide network of neutron monitors and from IMP-8 cosmic-ray telescopes, as well as by particle detectors on the GOES 5 and 6 and ICE satellites, on the solar cosmic ray event that took place on February 16, 1984. Using these data, the intensity-time (IT) profiles, the anisotropy-time profiles, the energy spectra, and the pitch angle distributions of the solar protons near earth were deduced. It was found that the solar protons propagated essentially scatter-free from the sun to the earth. The solar protons had easy access to the IMF lines to earth; the time from the onset to maximum intensity and the shape of the IT profiles at earth as a function of energy could be explained by the diffusion of the flare protons near the acceleration region. The energy spectrum of the solar flare protons injected into the undisturbed IMF at the sun was changing with time in both amplitude and shape. The observations suggest a shock acceleration process.

Debrunner, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Multispacecraft observations of the east-west asymmetry of solar energetic storm particle events

Energetic proton observations have been obtained by instruments aboard the IMP-7 and -8 spacecraft and Voyager-1 and -2 deep space probes, in order to study the generation of solar flare Energetic Storm Particle Events (ESP) events at widely separated locations on the same shock front which are presumably characterized, on average, by different IMF shock front configurations for solar flare sites. Energetic proton observations indicate that substantial differences in the ESP proton intensity enhancements are detected at these energies for locations on the shock front with wide heliolongitude separations. The present results indicate that acceleration of ESP protons to more than 500 keV takes place at the quasi-perpendicular shock front domain, consistent with the 'shock drift' acceleration mechanism.

Sarris, E. T.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Probability of False Go/No-Go Determined by GOES Proton Flux: Proposed Launch Constraints for Avoiding Damaging Solar Energetic Particle Events

The space environment is full of harmful radiation and high energy particles that can cause damage to materials and affect computer systems by e.g., single event effects (SEEs), total ionizing dose (TID), etc. There are three main sources of high energy particles: Trapped radiation in Earth's Van Allen belts (electrons and protons); Solar energetic particles (SEPs) (protons and heavy ions); Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) (protons and heavy ions). In this study, we focus on the SEPs and their time series and energy spectrum to quantify probabilities of launch go/no-go. The SEPs originate from solar particle events (SPEs) that are associated with a solar flare and/or a coronal mass ejection (CME). These events are difficult to predict. Recent work has been done on these prediction techniques. The Geostarionary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) has been observing SEPs for decades. The greater than 10 megaelectronvolt proton flux is shown in Figure 2 since 1986. The SEPs are influenced by the 11-year solar cycle and typically come from active regions on the Sun.

DeStefano, Anthony M.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Flat Proton Spectra in Large Solar Energetic Particle Events

We present solar energetic particle events observed at 1 AU from the Sun for which the proton energy spectra at energies between ~50 keV to ~1 MeV flatten during a period of at least ~12 hours prior to the passage of the associated interplanetary shock. The flattening of the proton energy spectra occurs when the source of the particles (presumably the traveling interplanetary shock) is still downwind from the spacecraft and particle intensities are still continuously increasing. The arrival of the shock at the spacecraft is then characterized by a steepening of the spectra, where low-energy proton intensities show a more pronounced enhancement than the high-energy proton intensities. We discuss the mechanisms that may result in this flattening of the spectra in terms of current models presented in the literature.

Lario, D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Shields-1 Energetic Proton Dose Comparison from Solar Minimum and Active Periods

Shields-1 has been operating in polar low earth orbit since December 2018 as part of the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)XIX Mission. Shields-1 has 8 Teledyne µdosimeters behind shielding. These shielded µdosimeters have high minimum proton energy thresholds. The Shields-1 electronics enclosure µdosimeter has a minimum proton threshold energy of 151 MeV. The annualized total ionizing dose (TID) in the electronics enclosure was 75.6 +/- 3.2 RAD from July-August 2019, which was a solar minimum period. In contrast, the annualized TID was 61.0 +/- 2.5 RAD in July 2023, a solar active month. The TID change can be attributed to both the reduction in radiation at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the decrease in galactic cosmic radiation during increasing solar activity. The measured GCR dose over the poles was reduced during the July 2023 solar active period in comparison with the July 2019 solar minimum period, using the most sensitive µdosimeter channel for the measurement. Shields-1 has demonstrated the capability of measuring the changes in high energy protons in polar low earth orbit during changes in solar activity, which contributes to the understanding of Earth in the heliosphere.

Shields-1 Dosimetry Space Sciences↗
NASA NTRS1974

Physics of solar cosmic rays

A review of the historical development of solar cosmic ray research is presented and details concerning the solar atmosphere, the interplanetary space, and solar activity are considered, giving attention to solar-atmosphere structure, problems of radiative transfer, questions of solar magnetism, solar wind, and interplanetary plasmas. Solar flares and associated phenomena are discussed along with the generation of solar cosmic ray events, the mechanism of solar flares, the acceleration process of solar cosmic rays, the propagation of solar cosmic rays, and relations between the flow of energetic protons and solar active regions. Questions regarding the origin theory of cosmic rays are also explored, taking into account the solar origin theory and problems of flare stars.

Sakurai, K.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Visual Utility for the Localization of Corona-Accelerated Nuclei

There is considerable controversy as to whether flares are the sole producers of energetic protons or whether coronal mass ejections play a central role. We note that the system described in this paper is presently capable of computing flux predictions only for protons associated with solar-flare activity.

flares↗
NASA NTRS2023

Solar Energetic-Particle-Associated Coronal Mass Ejections Observed by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Mk3 and Mk4 Coronameters

We report on the first comprehensive study of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with ~25 MeV solar energetic-proton (SEP) events in 1980 – 2013 observed in the low/inner corona by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) Mk3 and Mk4 coronameters. Where possible, these observations are combined with space-based observations from the Solar Maximum Mission C/P, P78-1 SOLWIND, or SOHO/LASCO coronagraphs. The aim of the study is to understand directly measured (rather than inferred from proxies) CME motions in the low to midcorona and their association with SEP acceleration, and hence attempt to identify early signatures that are characteristic of SEP acceleration in ground-based CME observations that may be used to warn of impending SEP events. Although we find that SEP events are associated with CMEs that are on average faster and wider than typical CMEs observed by MLSO, a major challenge turns out to be determining reliable estimates of the CME dynamics in the low corona from the 3-min cadence Mk3/4 observations since different analysis techniques can produce inconsistent results. This complicates the assessment of what early information on a possible SEP event is available from these low-coronal observations.

I. G. Richardson↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Effect of Space Radiation on TES Detectors Performance

The Athena mission and its X-IFU instrument (X-ray Integral Field Unit) will be positioned at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L1, where it will be subject to solar wind (low flux plasma of 95% protons and 5% alpha particles) with energy below 0.1 MeV, and to galactic cosmic rays and solar flares (energetic protons, alpha particles, and electrons) with energies up to hundreds of MeV for protons and the GeV for heavier ions. Some of these particles will go through the satellite and hit the focal plane assembly and hence the detectors. These detectors will be TES (Transition-edge sensor) microcalorimeters, flown for the first time in such an environment. In order to ensure the performance of this type of detectors throughout the duration of such mission, it is critical to study the impact of the radiation on their behavior. Indeed, although a lot of reference material exist for semiconductor detectors such as CCDs, little is currently known about the impact of radiation on TES detectors. These energetic events could cause local heating or damage to the detectors and affect their performance. In this work, we describe how we designed a test campaign to assess the impact of L1 radiation on TES detectors for Athena/X-IFU-like missions and present the results of the tests. Analyses includes assessing changes in the pulse shapes and energy resolution of the detectors measured at 55 mK after several radiation dose steps performed at 4 K.

Sophie Beaumont↗