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Biomedical Consequences of Exposure to Space Radiation

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Space Radiation and Astronaut Safety

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Space Development ((BRIEFSSPACE))

Abstract

Please note that figures were not sequentially cited in the text, and have been renumbered both in the text as follows

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Notes

  1. 1.

    LET is the retarding force acting on a charged ionizing particle as it passes through material, whether that material happens to be a spacecraft or an astronaut. The term describes how much energy the particle transfers to the material traversed per unit distance. LET also depends on the type of radiation and the material traversed.

  2. 2.

    MeV is short for megaelectron volt and is equivalent to one million electron volts (eV). One eV is the amount of kinetic energy gained by an electron as it accelerates through an electric potential difference of one volt.

  3. 3.

    The AST measures attention and cognitive flexibility in rats. It is based on the intradimensional/extradimensional component of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), which is used to assess cognitive dysfunction in humans. An attentional set is created when a person learns that a set of rules can be used to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant cues.

  4. 4.

    Oxidative stress is a term that describes the imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to neutralize these free radicals through the use of antioxidants . Free radicals are molecules that contain oxygen. These molecules have one or more unpaired electrons, which means they are very reactive with other molecules which in turn means they are capable of chemically interacting with and destabilizing cells such as DNA . Under normal conditions, antioxidants prevent these reactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Aviation Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA

    Erik Seedhouse

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  1. Erik Seedhouse
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Seedhouse, E. (2018). Biomedical Consequences of Exposure to Space Radiation. In: Space Radiation and Astronaut Safety. SpringerBriefs in Space Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74615-9_2

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