DLR Astro Seminar 2019: 50th anniversary of the Moon landing – and since (part 5)

Picture: NASA

Please note that all lectures of the 2019 Astroseminar are fully booked. Registration is no longer possible at this point. In case you wish to be waitlisted, please send an email to Rebecca.Bartkowski@dlr.de.

5. Radiation exposure in space

Long-term space missions, whether on a space station or as part of planned voyages to the Moon or Mars, mean more than just physical and mental challenges for the astronauts: they are also associated with significant radiation exposure. On Earth, the atmosphere offers a high degree of protection against cosmic rays. In contrast, the exposure to cosmic radiation – consisting of galactic and solar components – during a quiet phase of the Sun exceeds terrestrial levels by several hundred times and can even become life-threatening during solar flares.

While solar radiation on interplanetary missions can be effectively mitigated using suitable protection such as early-warning systems and the installation of protected rooms with increased screening, these measures do not work against the high-energy component of galactic radiation. Implementation of radiation protection strategies and the associated calculation and minimisation of risks to astronauts – both of short and long-term damage – require precise measurement of the individual components within the radiation field and an exact analysis of their biological effects.

Dr Günther Reitz studied at the University of Frankfurt, where he completed his Diplom in physics and then a doctorate in biophysics. Since 1972, he has been working on measuring the radiation field in near-Earth and interplanetary space, as well as on the surface of planets, and on how individual radiation components affect biological systems. As scientific and technical director, Günther Reitz has conducted studies during numerous experiments on Russian and US space missions and on the International Space Station since 1986. He accepted the position as Head of Department for Radiation Biology at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in 2004. In 2017, he was appointed professor at the University of Suzhou in China, where he supports the Institute for Aerospace Biology in the planning of space experiments. He has been director of a project for the interpretation and measurement of high-energy phenomena in Earth’s atmosphere at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Prague since 2017.

The event will be held at the Air Force Conference Centre, Wahn Air Force Base. Information on how to enter the Base complex and the parking facilities will be published ahead of the event on www.dlr.de.

For more information on the topic of the Astro Seminar, please contact Dr Manfred Gaida.