Nuclear thermal rocket propelled Mars missions - Astronaut shielding requirements

Details Nuclear thermal rocket propelled Mars missions - Astronaut shielding requirements Nuclear thermal rocket propelled Mars missions - Astronaut shielding requirements

Aug 1992

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992wadc.iafcqu...h&link_type=abstract

IAF, International Astronautical Congress, 43rd, Washington, Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 1992. 8 p. Research sponsored by Los Alamos Nation

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Engine Design, Manned Mars Missions, Nuclear Propulsion, Radiation Dosage, Radiation Shielding, Spacecraft Configurations, Liquid Hydrogen, Optimization, Solar Flares

Scientific paper

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), with its high specific impulse and burn times, can reduce the transit time and cost of manned Mars missions. By optimizing the spacecraft configuration, the mass required to shield astronauts from the nuclear rocket engines is reduced which leads to further cost and transit time reductions. The objectives of this research were to quantify the radiation dose to astronauts from an NTP system during a typical manned Mars mission, and to develop design and analysis tools and methodologies for optimizing spacecraft shielding design and mass. Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques are used in the analyses to allow inclusion of detailed geometric effects. Radiation scatter off of unshielded components (such as aerobrakes) is an important radiation source. In an optimized configuration, very little additional mass will be required to shield astronauts from the NTRs. Preliminary calculations also indicate that if the nuclear thermal rocket engines are not jettisoned immediately following the final burn, a radiation shelter may be required for the astronauts, as very little hydrogen propellant will remain to shield the astronauts from engine radiation. An external disk shield, however, may not be required for certain optimized vehicle configurations.

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