Web-based description of the space radiation environment using the Bethe-Bloch model

Abstract

Space weather is a rapidly growing area not only in scientific and engineering applications but also in physics education and in the interest of the public. We focus especially on space radiation and its impact on space exploration. The topic is highly interdisciplinary bringing together fundamental concepts of nuclear physics with aspects of radiation protection and space science. We present a new approach to presenting the topic by developing a web-based tool that combines some of the fundamental concepts from these two fields in a single tool that can be developed in the context of advanced secondary or undergraduate university education. We present DREADCode, an outreach or teaching tool to asses rapidly the current conditions of the radiation field in space. DREADCode uses the available data feeds from a number of ongoing space missions to produce a first order approximation of the dose an astronaut would receive during a mission of exploration in deep space. DREADcode is based on a intuitive GUI interface available online from the European Space Weather Portal. The core of the radiation transport computation to produce the radiation dose from the observed fluence of radiation observed by the spacecraft fleet considered is based on a relatively simple approximation: the Bethe-Block equation. DREADCode assumes also a simplified geometry and material configuration for the shields used to compute the dose. The approach is approximate and it sacrifices some important physics on the altar of a rapid execution time allowing a real time operation scenario. There is no intention here to produce an operational tool for use in the space science and engineering. Rather we present an educational tool at undergraduate level that uses modern web-based and programming methods to learn some of the most important concepts in the application of radiation protection to space weather problems.