As much as we want to travel outside our planet and explore the deep realms of space, theres one big problem that has been hindering our progress: speed. Or more specifically, the need for extreme speed.

With our current technologies, the farthest our astronauts can travel to is Mars. Such trip typically takes two to three years to be completed from Earth to Mars, and back to Earth. For our astronauts, that means two to three years of exposure to harmful cosmic radiation and the hazards of microgravity. And that simply isnt acceptable. By funding a New Jersey-based spaceflight company called Princeton Satellite Systems, NASA is hoping that can soon change.

Princeton Satellite Systems is said to be developing a miniature version of a fusion reactor that weighs just 11 tons, measures less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter, is only 13 26 feet (4 8 meters) long, and is capable of generating around 1 kilowatt of power per 2.2 pounds (1 Kilogram) of mass.

Fusion reactors work by fusing or combining two hydrogen nuclei to form helium, meaning, they make use of the same chemical reaction that stars, including our Sun, constantly undergo to generate enormous amounts of energy. Unfortunately, as powerful as fusion reactors are envisioned to be, no one has yet figured out how to build one that generates more energy than what is required to produce that energy, considering that extremely high temperatures and pressures are needed for fusion of atoms to take place. Additionally, the fusion reactors being developed are quite big, which make them impractical to bring into space.

This is what will differentiate the work being done by Princeton Satellite Systems. Instead of building the usual large fusion reactors that aim to produce hundreds of megawatts of power, they are opting to build miniaturized versions that are designed to generate only about a dozen megawatts of power. Its not just easier to build, in a manner of speaking; it will cost way less too. Just imagine, a large fusion reactor will cost $20 billion; a mini version, on the other hand, will only cost $20 million.

As described in an article by Space.com, Princeton Satellite Systems mini fusion reactor will involve heating a mix of deuterium and helium 3 using low-frequency radio waves, confining the plasma generated within magnetic fields, then directing it out of the engines nozzle to create a powerful thrust.

According to Princeton Satellite Systems president Michael Paluszek, the thrust generated can provide speeds of up to 25,000 kilometers per second (or 55.9 million miles per hour). At such velocities, space travel can significantly be shortened. For instance, a trip to Mars will be reduced to just a 310-day trip. That means less exposure to deadly radiation, and less supplies needed for the trip too. If used for a robotic mission to Pluto, it will only take four years instead of nine years, which is how long it took NASAs New Horizons mission. Paluszek even says that a 10-megawatt fusion rocket could be used to deflect asteroids that can potentially cause widespread damage to our planet.

Princeton Satellite Systems initiative doesnt come without its challenges, of course. For starters, helium 3 is quite rare, which means theres an additional step needed for the reaction to work, that is, produce helium 3 first either via nuclear reactors, or space mining. Theres also the matter of the reactor producing deadly neutron radiation. Even if the amount is minimal, it will still require some kind of shielding, which means more additional work. Theres also the need to use multiple reactors because apparently, radio waves cant penetrate too deep into plasma.

Everything else considered, the researchers are aiming to demonstrate a working prototype by 2019 or 2020. Were quite sure NASA and all other space and astronomy enthusiasts are hoping that Princeton Satellite Systems will deliver on their intent to help fast-track space missions to Mars and other target destinations.

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Could Teeny Fusion Rockets Propel The Future Of Spaceflight? - Wall Street Pit

Jun.13.2017 / 10:24 AM ET

Science writer Charles Q. Choi is a contributor to Space.com. His work also appears in such publications as Scientific American, The New York Times and National Geographic.

Fusion-powered rockets the size of only a few refrigerators could one day help propel spacecraft at high speeds to nearby planets or even other stars, a NASA-funded spaceflight company says.

Another use for such fusion rockets is to deflect asteroids that might strike Earth and to build manned bases on the moon and Mars, the researchers say.

Rockets fly by hurling materials known as propellants away from them. Conventional rockets that rely on chemical reactions are not very efficient when it comes to how much thrust they generate, given the amount of propellant they carry, which has led rocket scientists to explore a variety of alternatives over the years.

An option now used in spacecraft is the ion drive, which generates thrust by using electricity to accelerate electrically charged ion propellants. Ion drives are far more efficient than chemical rockets but are limited by the amount of electricity they can harvest via solar panels or generate using radioactive materials.

Related: Superfast Spacecraft Propulsion Concepts

Instead of chemical rockets or ion drives, scientists have also suggested using fusion rockets propelled by the same nuclear reactions that power stars. These rockets would not only be efficient but also generate vast amounts of electricity.

However, so far, no one has built a fusion reactor that generates more energy than it consumes. Moreover, the fusion reactors that are under development are huge, making them difficult to hoist into space.

But now, researchers funded by NASA are developing small fusion rockets.

"It's technology that enables really interesting robotic and human missions to Mars and Pluto, and it is also potentially a way of getting into interstellar space," said Michael Paluszek, president of Princeton Satellite Systems in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

The large fusion reactors under development today, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), usually strive to generate hundreds of megawatts of power. In contrast, Paluszek and his colleagues at Princeton Satellite Systems are designing reactors meant to produce only a dozen megawatts or so. This humbler goal results in a smaller, lighter reactor that is easier to build and launch into space "for practical robotic and human missions," Paluszek said.

In addition, these small fusion reactors are much cheaper than larger devices. Paluszek noted that, whereas modern fusion experiments might cost $20 billion, a prototype fusion rocket the researchers plan to develop should cost just $20 million. So far, they have received three NASA grants to fund the project, he said.

The aim for the fusion drives is to get about 1 kilowatt of power per 2.2 lbs. (1 kilogram) of mass. A 10-megawatt fusion rocket would, therefore, weigh about 11 tons (10 metric tons).

"It would probably be 1.5 meters [4.9 feet] in diameter and 4 to 8 meters [13 to 26 feet] long," Paluszek said.

Related: Will This 'Impossible' Motor Take People to Other Planets?

Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures to force atoms to fuse, a process that converts some of the mass of the atoms into energy. The fusion reactors that Princeton Satellite Systems is developing uses low-frequency radio waves to heat a mix of deuterium and helium-3, and magnetic fields to confine the resulting plasma in a ring. (Deuterium is made of hydrogen atoms that each have an extra neutron; helium-3 is made of helium atoms, each of which is missing a neutron; and plasma is the state of matter found in stars, lightning bolts, and neon lights.)

As this plasma rotates in a ring, some of it can spiral out and get directed from the fusion rocket's nozzle for thrust. "We can get very high exhaust velocities of up to about 25,000 kilometers per second [55.9 million mph]," Paluszek said.

The large amounts of thrust this fusion rocket may deliver compared to its mass could enable very fast spacecraft. For instance, whereas round-trip crewed missions to Mars are estimated to take more than two years using current technology, the researchers estimated that six 5-megawatt fusion rockets could accomplish such missions in 310 days. This extra speed would reduce the risks of radiation that astronauts might experience from the sun or deep space, as well as dramatically cut the amount of food, water, and other supplies they would need to bring with them.

Related: Warp Speed Won't Get Us to the Stars, but This Just Might

In addition, the fusion reactors could also help generate ample electricity for scientific instruments and communications devices. For instance, whereas NASA's New Horizons mission took more than nine years to get to Pluto and had little more than 200 watts of power to work with once it arrived, broadcasting about 1,000 bits of data back per second, a 1-megawatt fusion rocket could get a robotic mission to Pluto in four years, supply 500 kilowatts of power and broadcast more than 1 million bits of data back per second, Paluszek said. Such a mission could also carry a lander to Pluto and power it by beaming down energy, he added.

"With the amount of power fusion rockets can provide, you can think of science that can't be done now with other technologies, such as powering a lander to drill through the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa," Paluszek said.

A 10-megawatt fusion rocket could also deflect an asteroid about 525 feet (160 m) in diameter coming at Earth, spending about 200 days to travel there and 23 days nudging it off course, Paluszek said. Fusion rockets could even enable an interstellar voyage to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, although the trip might take 500 to 700 years, he said. (Alpha Centauri lies about 4.3 light-years from the sun.)

Related: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel

Previous research suggested this kind of fusion rocket in the 1960s, but the designs proposed for them would not stably confine the plasmas, Paluszek said. About 10 years ago, reactor designer Sam Cohen figured out a magnetic-field design "that could make stable plasmas," Paluszek explained.

One drawback of the kind of nuclear reactor that Princeton Satellite Systems is developing is that radio waves do not penetrate deeply into plasma. "We're limited to something like 1 meter [3.3 feet] in diameter," Paluszek said. To generate large amounts of power with this strategy, the researchers have to rely on multiple reactors.

Another pitfall is that, while this fusion reactor generates less deadly neutron radiation than most fusion reactors under development, it still does produce some neutrons, as well as X-rays. "Radiation shielding is key," Paluszek said.

In addition, helium-3 is rare on Earth. Still, it is possible to generate helium-3 using nuclear reactors, Paluszek said.

Princeton Satellite Systems is not alone in pursuing small fusion reactors. For instance, Paluszek noted that Helion Energy in Redmond, Washington, also intends to fuse deuterium and helium-3, while Tri Alpha Energy in Foothill Ranch, California, aims to fuse boron and protons.

"Fusion can enable new and exciting science missions that are too expensive and difficult to do with today's technology," Paluszek said.

The researchers have not yet demonstrated fusion with their device, but aim to do so by 2019 to 2020. Paluszek detailed his company's research June 3 at The Dawn of Private Space Science Symposium in New York.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook, and Google+. Original articleSpace.com.

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Are These Little Rockets the Future of Spaceflight? | NBC News - NBCNews.com

Jason Rhian

June 14th, 2017

NASA, Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin are preparing to conduct the QM-1 static test fire of the Orion spacecrafts Launch Abort Motor at 1 p.m. MDT June 15 at Promontory, Utah. Photo Credit: Orbital ATK

PROMONTORY, Utah On Thursday, June 15, 2017,NASA, Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martinare slated to carry out the first of three qualification ground tests (QM-1) of the Launch Abort Motor being developed for use on the space agencys Orion spacecraft.

The test will last for a mere five seconds and will test out several of the motors performance aspects. Photo Credit: Orbital ATK

The vertical ground test firing is slated to take place at 1 p.m. MDT (19:00 GMT) at Orbital ATKs test facility locatednear Promontory, Utah.

In the event of an emergency either at the launch pad or during ascent, Orion is fitted with a Launch Abort System or LAS that would pull Orions Command Module away from the vehicles Service Module as well as the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket it is attached to.

The 17-foot (5.2-meter) tall Launch Abort Motor set to be tested is the main motor in the escape system and has a diameter of about three feet (1 meter). It has a manifold that has four nozzles and turns the flow of the flames to create a pulling motion.

Thursdays test is scheduled to last for only about five seconds. But,it will be an impressive five seconds with themotor reaching400,000 pounds (1,800 kilonewtons) of thrust in just one-eighth of a second, sending plumes some100 feet (100 meters) into the desert sky.

During an actual abort scenario, either on the launch pad or up to 300,000 feet (91,000 meters) in altitude during the vehicles climb toward orbit, the motor would pull the Orion spacecrafts Command Module away from whatever event would require a hasty retreat away from the launch vehicle and spacecraft.

For this test, the abort motor was fitted onto a specially-designed vertical test stand with the nozzles pointed skyward. When activated, the plumes of fire and smoke will shoot into the sky.

The motor is currently on the test stand, which has temporary thermal panels between the motors four legs tobetter regulatethermal conditioning, which was initiated Sunday, June 11. The panels will be removed a few hours before thetest. Once this has occurred, Orbital ATKs engineers will erect the heat shield acoustic array above the motor and perform final instrument checks for the test firing, according to a statement provided to SpaceFlight Insider by Orbital ATK.

This is the first static fire test that validates the ballistic performance of the abort motor operational propellant grain design, Steve Sara, Orbital ATKs Launch Abort Motor program director told SpaceFlight Insider. It also verifies the motor performance under the high temperature design limits as well as design changes since the development test performed in 2008.

If everything continues to go as NASA and its family of contractors plan, SLS will conduct its maiden flight from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39B in 2019. It will send an Orion spacecraft on a circumlunar journey designed as a shakedown flight beforesending crews aloft on the rocket in 2023.

NASA looked into the possibility of having a crew fly on the 2019 inaugural flight of SLS, as part of a directive from NASAs Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot. The space agency, however, opted to maintain the current path it wason as there were too many logistical and technological elements that would not support a human flight under that timeline.

An Orion spacecraft has already conducted one uncrewed flight, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket on Exploration Flight Test 1 in December of 2014.

Those wishing to watch the test can go to a public viewing sitealong State Road 83 North (about 20 miles west of Corinne, Utah).

Video courtesy of Wired

Updated at2 p.m. EDT to clarify the maximum altitude the Launch Abort Motor can be used during ascent.

Tagged: Launch Abort Motor Lead Stories Lockheed-Martin NASA Orbital ATK Orion Promontory Space Launch System

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.

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Orbital ATK poised to test Orion Launch Abort Motor - SpaceFlight Insider

Artists concept of the XS-1 spaceplane before releasing its expendable upper stage. Credit: Boeing

A reusable suborbital spaceplane the size of a business jet being developed by Boeing and the Defense Departments research and development arm could be launching and landing at Cape Canaveral in 2020, officials said after the defense contractor won a competition last month to design and test the vehicle.

Designed for rapid reusability, the XS-1 spaceplane will take off vertically like a rocket without a crew deploy an upper stage after traveling beyond the edge of space, then return to landing on a runway for inspections and reuse.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, selected Boeing to finish designing the spaceplane last month. Boeing beat competitors Northrop Grumman and Masten Space Systems to win the $146 million contract.

Boeing and DARPA are developing the spaceplane in a cost-sharing public-private partnership arrangement, but Boeing did not disclose how much it is spending on the program.

When operational after a series of suborbital and orbital test flights, the XS-1 and its expendable upper stage could place satellites weighing up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) into low Earth orbit several hundred miles above the planet.

The XS-1 would be neither a traditional airplane nor a conventional launch vehicle but rather a combination of the two, with the goal of lowering launch costs by a factor of ten and replacing todays frustratingly long wait time with launch on demand, said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager, in a press release. Were very pleased with Boeings progress on the XS-1 through Phase 1 of the program and look forward to continuing our close collaboration in this newly funded progression to Phases 2 and 3 fabrication and flight.

The Defense Department envisions the Experimental Spaceplane, or XS-1, program as an option for rapid call-up to replace a lost military or commercial satellite, available to launch within days instead of the months or years needed today.

An end goal for the XS-1 program is to launch 10 times in 10 days, with recurring operating costs as little as $5 million per flight, including the disposable upper stage, according to DARPA.

Boeing calls its XS-1 test vehicle the Phantom Express, a winged craft the size of a business jet that will launch to the edge of space and release an expendable upper stage, which would fire to inject the missions payload into orbit. The reusable first stage would turn around and fly back to the launch site.

Rick Weiss, a DARPA spokesperson, said Cape Canaveral will be the base for Phantom Express test flights and launch operations. He did not say which launch pad the spaceplane will use.

The spacecraft booster would return to land at one of two runways on Floridas Space Coast: Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility, a three-mile-long landing strip, or the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Phantom Express is designed to disrupt and transform the satellite launch process as we know it today, creating a new, on-demand space-launch capability that can be achieved more affordably and with less risk, said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works.

Boeing officials said the Phantom Express would employ operation and maintenance principles similar to modern aircraft.

The U.S. Air Forces X-37B space plane, similar in appearance to the XS-1 but different in function, is also built by Boeing.

The Phantom Express booster stage would be powered by a single Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-22 engine, a version of the space shuttle main engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

Boeing originally partnered with Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon.coms Jeff Bezos, as an engine provider for the XS-1 program, but later switched to an Aerojet Rocketdyne engine, according to Cheryl Sampson, a Boeing spokesperson.

We conducted trade studies with Blue Origin in the first phase of the program, Sampson wrote in an email to Spaceflight Now. Boeing selected the Aerojet Rocketdyne engine for this next phase as it offers a flight proven, reusable engine to meet the DARPA mission requirements.

Aerojet Rocketdyne said it will provide two engines for the XS-1 program with legacy shuttle flight experience to demonstrate reusability, a wide operating range and rapid turnarounds.

The engines will be designated as AR-22 engines, Aerojet Rocketdyne said in a press release. Technicians at NASAs Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, where Aerojet Rocketdyne assembles and tests rocket engines, will create the AR-22 engines from parts left over from early versions of the shuttle main engine, the company said.

As one of the worlds most reliable rocket engines, the SSME is a smart choice to power the XS-1 launch vehicle, said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. This engine has a demonstrated track record of solid performance and proven reusability.

The Phantom Express booster stage will have advanced, lightweight composite cryogenic tanks to hold the super-cold propellants feeding the AR-22 engine. Hybrid metallic-composite wings and control surfaces on the spaceplane will be fitted with third-generation thermal protection to withstand the rigors of hypersonic flight and re-entry temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,100 degrees Celsius), according to DARPA and Boeing.

Other technologies on the spaceplane launch system would include an autonomous range safety destruct mechanism and other components designed for autonomous flight, including some developed for DARPAs Airborne Launch Assist Space Access, or ALASA, program, officials said.

The ALASA program intended to launch small 100-pound (45-kilogram) satellites on a lightweight rocket fired from the belly of an F-15 fighter jet. DARPA canceled the program, which it also developed with Boeing, in 2015 after running into problems testing the rockets mix of nitrous oxide and acetylene fuel, a monopropellant cocktail that would have eliminated the need for the launcher to carry an oxidizer.

Phase 2 of the XS-1 program will encompass the design, construction and testing of a technology demonstration vehicle through 2019, DARPA said. The AR-22 engine will be test-fired on the ground 10 times in 10 days to verify it is ready for flight tests.

Phase 3 objectives include 12 to 15 flight tests, currently scheduled for 2020, DARPA said in a statement. After multiple shakedown flights to reduce risk, the XS-1 would aim to fly 10 times over 10 consecutive days, at first without payloads and at speeds as fast as Mach 5.

Then test flights will reach speeds as fast as Mach 10, DARPA said, and deliver a demonstration payload into low Earth orbit with a mass between 900 pounds (408 kilograms) and 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).

Weiss said DARPA currently envisions a liquid-fueled upper stage for the XS-1 program, and artists concepts show the upper stage riding on top of the spaceplanes fuselage. The DARPA spokesman said the agency is open to other types of upper stages, which would be provided by Boeing.

DARPA said it will release selected data from the XS-1 tests to other commercial launch providers interested in adopting the programs reusable, rapid-turnaround concepts.

Were delighted to see this truly futuristic capability coming closer to reality, said Brad Tousley, director of DARPAs Tactical Technology Office, which oversees XS-1. Demonstration of aircraft-like, on-demand, and routine access to space is important for meeting critical Defense Department needs and could help open the door to a range of next-generation commercial opportunities.

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Boeing, DARPA to base XS-1 spaceplane at Cape Canaveral - Spaceflight Now

Heather Smith

June 14th, 2017

Dynetics, Inc. is to build the universal stage adapter for NASAs SLS rocket. Image Credit: NASA

NASA has announced that the applied science and information technology company Dynetics, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $221.7 million prime contract to develop and build a universal stage adapter (USA) for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

The adapter will serve to connect NASAs Orion spacecraft to the exploration upper stage (EUS) of the Block 1B Crew variant of the SLS while also providing additional cargo space for the rocket. The partnership is with the Glenn Research Center in Ohio.

Dynetics will design, develop, test, evaluate, produce, and deliver the first universal stage adapter for the second integrated mission Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) of the SLS and Orion. The mission will be the first test flight with crew aboard NASAs new deep space exploration systems. The SLS will have three different launch blocks. USA and EUS will be placed on top of the SLS core stage and solid rocket boosters for the Block 1B and other future configurations.

We are extremely proud to be selected as the prime contractor for the NASA Space Launch Systems Universal Stage Adapter. This contract will build on Dynetics expertise in the space industry which includes developing low-cost, full-scale advanced booster cryogenic liquid oxygen demonstration tank and manufacturing, designing and testing propulsion components and systems for the SLS core and upper stages, said Robert Wright, Dynetics program manager.

An artists rendering of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) evolution: SLS Block 1 Crew, Block 1B Crew, Block 1B Cargo, and Block 2 Cargo. Image Credit: NASA

Dynetics will also coordinate their plans with RUAG Space USA, ZIN Technologies, Dynamics Concepts, Inc., Craig Technologies, Tuskegee University and Paragon Tec. Wright said that the partnerships will bring vast levels of experience and knowledge together while developing flight hardware for deep space missions.

The contract performance period will be 11 years, which includes a four-year base period that begins on August 1, allowing NASA to order up to six additional adaptors for missions beyond EM-2.

Other payloads such as habitats, deep-space exploration spacecraft, and CubeSats can be housed inside the USA.

The adapter will stand 32.4 feet (9.9 meters) tall and will measure 27.6 feet (8.4 meters) in diameter at its largest point. It will provide environmental control to payloads during ground operations, launch, and ascent while also accommodating the electrical and communications between the EUS and Orion. The maximum payload internal volume area will be up to 10,100 cubic feet (286 m3).

The focus of the EM-2 mission surrounds the EUS and four RL-10 engines that will propel Orion into a trans-lunar injection, which is a higher elliptical orbit around Earth. Another orbit will take place between 500 and 19,000 nautical miles (926 km to 35,188 km) above Earth. Once the orbits are completed, the EUS will separate from the Orion spacecraft, and the payload(s) selected for the mission in the USA will be released. The payloads will then fly on their own and conduct their individual missions.

After the USA is assembled and tested, it will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The USA will travel by barge from Decatur, Alabama, down the Tennessee River and Tombigbee Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico and then towardsouth Florida to Kennedy Space Center.

Dynetics is also the subcontractor for manufacturing and transportation for the SLS core stage pathfinder vehicle.

According to Dynetics, the SLS Block 1B rocket with the adapter is scheduled to launch sometime in the early 2020s.

An expanded view of the 70-metric-ton Block 1B Crew showing the Universal Stage Adapter position on NASAs Space Launch System (SLS). Image Credit: NASA

Tagged: Dynetics NASA Orion Space Launch System The Range

Heather Smith's fascination for space exploration started at the tender age of twelve while she was on a sixth-grade field trip in Kenner, Louisiana, walking through a mock-up of the International Space Station and seeing the space potty (her terminology has progressed considerably since that time) she realized at this point that her future lay in the stars. Smith has come to realize that very few people have noticed how much spaceflight technology has improved their lives. She has since dedicated herself to correcting this problem. Inspired by such classic literature as Anne Franks Diary, she has honed her writing skills and has signed on as The Spaceflight Groups coordinator for the organizations social media efforts.

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Dynetics to build SLS universal stage adapter - SpaceFlight Insider

Forbes

The Private Sector Is More Involved Than Ever In Spaceflight. Is ... Forbes Is NASA becoming obsolete now that we have increasing private sector involvement in space? This question was originally answered on Quora by C Stuart ... and more »

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The Private Sector Is More Involved Than Ever In Spaceflight. Is ... - Forbes

Paul Knightly

June 13th, 2017

A new study suggests that the cancer risk on a Mars mission due to galactic cosmic radiation could be double what existing models suggest. Image Credit: NASA

A new study by researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) suggests the cancer risk for astronauts on a mission to Mars could be higher than expected. The results of the study were published in the May issue of Scientific Reports and show the risk is effectively doubled compared with previous models.

The study builds off of previous research that has suggested prolonged exposure to galactic cosmic radiation can cause cancer, cataracts, circulatory diseases, acute radiation illness, and effects to the central nervous system. While protons are primarily responsible for the absorbed radiation doses in the study, significant contributions were also noted from heavier ions, low energy protons and helium particles, and neutrons.

Exploring Mars will require missions of 900 days or longer and includes more than one year in deep space where exposures to all energies of galactic cosmic ray heavy ions are unavoidable, Francis Cucinotta, the lead author of the study explained in a press release by UNLV. Current levels of radiation shielding would, at best, modestly decrease the exposure risks.

Cucinotta has a background in studying the effects of the radiation environment of space.

Current radiation risk models assume DNA mutation and damage are the primary cause of cancer, which assumes all cells are impacted by cosmic rays over a short period of time. The new study examined how cancer risk is affected by how healthy, bystander cells are impacted by cells heavily damaged by cosmic rays. The results indicated at least a two-fold increase in cancer rates compared to current risk models.

Galactic cosmic ray exposure can devastate a cells nucleus and cause mutations that can result in cancers, Cucinotta said. We learned the damaged cells send signals to the surrounding, unaffected cells and likely modify the tissues microenvironments. Those signals seem to inspire the healthy cells to mutate, thereby causing additional tumors or cancers.

Cucinotta saidthe studys findings underline the need for more research into the effects of cosmic ray exposures under Mars mission constraints. Much of the existing body of research has focused on cosmic ray exposure on long duration missions within Earths geomagnetic sphere, such as extended flights on the International Space Station.

Cucinotta also said this raises a moral question of sending astronauts to Mars with such a high cancer risk.

Waving or increasing acceptable risk levels raises serious ethical flags[] if the true nature of the risks [is] not scientifically understood, Cucinotta said.

Tagged: cancer Cosmic Rays human spaceflight Mars The Range University of Nevada

Paul is currently a graduate student in Space and Planetary Sciences at the University of Akransas in Fayetteville. He grew up in the Kansas City area and developed an interest in space at a young age at the start of the twin Mars Exploration Rover missions in 2003. He began his studies in aerospace engineering before switching over to geology at Wichita State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 2013. After working as an environmental geologist for a civil engineering firm, he began his graduate studies in 2016 and is actively working towards a PhD that will focus on the surficial processes of Mars. He also participated in a 2-week simluation at The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in 2014 and remains involved in analogue mission studies today. Paul has been interested in science outreach and communication over the years which in the past included maintaining a personal blog on space exploration from high school through his undergraduate career and in recent years he has given talks at schools and other organizations over the topics of geology and space. He is excited to bring his experience as a geologist and scientist to the Spaceflight Insider team writing primarily on space science topics.

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Study suggests increased cancer risk on Mars missions - SpaceFlight Insider