Overview of energetic particle hazards during prospective manned
missions to Mars McKenna-Lawlor, Susan and Gonçalves, P. and
Keating, A. and Reitz, G. and Matthiä, D. (2011) Overview of
energetic particle hazards during prospective manned missions to
Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 63-64, pp. 123-132. Elsevier.
DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2011.06.017. Full text not available from
this repository. A scenario for an initial manned mission to
Mars involves transits through the Van Allen Radiation Belts, a
30 day ‘short surface stay’ and a 400 day Cruise Phase (to/from
the planet). The contribution to the total dose incurred through
transiting the belts is relatively small and manageable.
Estimates of the particle radiation hazard incurred during a 30
day stay on the surface (using ESA's Mars Energetic Radiation
Environment Models dMEREM and e MEREM) indicate that the dose is
not expected to be particularly challenging health-wise due to
the shielding effect provided by the Martian atmosphere and the
body of the plane