Matroshka Austria - Cosmic radiation exposure during extravehicular activities onboard ISS

The ESA Matroshka experiment was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with a Russian Progress freighter on January 29, 2004. The cooperation of 15 laboratories around the world makes it the most extensive research effort in radiation dosimetry ever performed in space.

The facility is aimed to simulate an astronaut’s body during an extravehicular activity. Matroshka basically consists of a human phantom torso attached to a base structure and covered with a protective carbon fibre container which acts as a space suit simulation.

The phantom is divided into 33 tissue-equivalent polyurethane slices of specific density for tissue and organs. Natural bones are embedded. Channels and cut-outs enable the accommodation of active and passive radiation monitors as well as temperature and pressure sensors.

In total, the phantom houses seven active instruments and over 6000 passive detectors of which the Atomic Institute of the Austrian Universities provides more than 1000 thermoluminescence dosimeter crystals for dose measurements with high spatial resolution and estimation of the biological effectiveness of the radiation field.

Matroshka was mounted outside the Russian Segment on February 26, 2004, and recovered on August 18, 2005. During that 18-month exposure period, the integrated radiation detectors measured distributions of particle fluence, energy spectra and accumulated doses within the anthropomorphic phantom body, particularly in identified radiosensitive organs and tissues.

The results are expected to contribute essentially to reliable radiation risk estimations of future astronaut crews.

Coordinator

Technische Universität Wien, Atominstitut der Österreichischen Universitäten - Norbert Vana, Michael Hajek

Partners

• Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin - Günther Reitz, Thomas Berger
• European Space Agency Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration - Martin Zell

Technische Universität Wien, Atominstitut der Österreichischen Universitäten
Stadionallee 2
A-1020 Vienna
Web: www.ati.ac.at

Norbert Vana
E-mail: vana@ati.ac.at,

Michael Hajek
E-mail: mhajek@ati.ac.at