Welcome to the Human Spaceflight - In-flight crew radiation exposure service

A number of models and in-orbit sensor datasets are provided with the help of products and tools such as:

• the RadSpace products provide information on the radiation environment and accumulated dose in human phantoms at ISS resulting from dedicated measurement campaigns;
• the Next Generation Radiation Monitor (NGRM) on EDRS-C provides measurements of energetic electrons and proton fluxes at GEO orbit;
• measurements and derived data products from the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) on PROBA-V;
• measurements from the Standard Radiation Environment Monitors (SREM) on Proba-1, Integral, Rosetta, Herschel and Planck;
• the Space Weather Data Browsing and Analysis (SWE Data) is a web application that provides access to space weather environment data.

This service page is curated by the ESC Space Radiation. For further information, please contact SSCC Helpdesk.

Particle radiation in the form of Solar Energetic Particles and Galactic Cosmic Rays is considered the main hazard for human spaceflight, specifically when considering a potential return trip to the Moon or interplanetary travel in general. Even at Low Earth Orbit (LEO) like the International Space Station, particle radiation poses a risk as energetic particles can penetrate deep into the magnetosphere, in particular in the polar regions. Furthermore, spacecraft passing the Van Allen radiation belts need to take into account the increased radiation levels in these regions. Monitoring the space environment in (near-) real-time to evaluate the possible health effects of space particle radiation on humans is therefore necessary. This includes space environment data (e.g. particle radiation, solar X-ray and UV observations) and dose measurements.

The RadSpace products provide information on the radiation environment at the International Space Station (ISS) which can be harmful to the health of the ISS crew members. The data from the DOSIS and DOSIS 3D projects map the radiation environment inside the Columbus Laboratory based on passive and active radiation detectors.

Energetic particle flux measurements and derived products from the Next Generation Radiation Monitor (NGRM) on board EDRS-C at geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) and the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) on board PROBA-V at LEO can be accessed from the Products section. A number of other particle radiation measurements are available through the Space Environment Data System (SEDAT) as well, although this tool is focussed on engineering analysis. Note that the particle fluxes need to be properly propagated through the Earth's magnetosphere if the user is interested in knowing the flux at a different altitude other than where the measurements were taken.

Measurements and detection of solar flares and coronal mass ejections are provided by the Solar Influences Data Analysis Center (SIDC) and the Kanzelhöhe Observatory (KSO).

A large set of measurements can also be accessed through the Space Weather Data Browsing and Analysis (SWE Data) web interface.

Auxiliary Information

This section provides links to web pages or resources that are not part of the ESA Space Weather Service Network or esa.int domain.  These sites are not under ESA control, and therefore ESA is not responsible for any of the information or links that you may find there. 

Reference documents:

• Directive 2013/59/Euratom Basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation.
• ECSS-E-ST-10-04C Space environment (15 June 2020)
• ECSS-E-ST-10-12C Method for the calculation of radiation received and its effects, and a policy for design margins (issued on 15 November 2008)
• ECSS-E-HB-10-12A Calculation of radiation and its effects and margin policy handbook (issued on 17 December 2010)

For further information, please contact SSCC Helpdesk.