In 2050, after over 50,000 people colonize Mars, Do Not Go Gentle, a private space company on Earth is planning to have its first human exploration of Saturn’s satellite, Titan. However, the dangers of radiation and the length of the trip from Earth jeopardize the mission for the humans on this mission to explore Titan. The mission will be using robotic AI’s and space ship that uses ion thrusters for propulsion. One of the topics that will be talked about in the sci-fi story of the mission to Titan is radiation. In space, radiation is one of many problems humans face when they travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere. There are two types of radiation, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is the process by which particles could …show more content…
These particles do the similar kind of damage as ionized radiation. [1] [2] There are two ways to measure radiation, an US unit and a SI unit. The first unit used to measure radiation is radiation-absorbed dose (rad) and it is use mostly in United States. The more commonly used measuring unit in the International Systems of Unit or SI is gray (Gy); 1 rad is equivalent to 0.01 Gy. Gray is also equivalent to one Joules per kilogram; however, radiation is measured in mGy or 1/1000 of a Gy when measuring absorption of a biological entity. [2] On Earth, the layers of atmosphere shield us from most of the radiation that could ever reach us but not all radiation is filtered like UV radiation. If there was no atmosphere, the high-energy particles can rip through the DNA’s links and cause mutations (usually in the form of cancer). When a high-energy particle affects the DNA/RNA or molecules, it can rip apart links or chains in the DNA/molecules. [3] The links that ripped apart a DNA can cause cancer and can affect chromosomes in the process. This process eventually leads to death if the DNA/RNA or cell is unable to repair the damage bonds. Exposure radiation can cause either an acute or chronic radiation poisoning. [3] Acute radiation is simply one large exposure to radiation either from high-energy/ionized or cosmic rays. Instead of having one large exposure of radiation, chronic radiation is having small doses over time, hence the Latin root
Radiation was discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen during a scientific experiment. Roentgen, classified radioactivity into three concepts: negative, positive, and electrically neutral. Radiation- is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. Technology is created with radiation and humans are exposed to the aspect daily with tons or material; especially in the doctor’s office and everywhere else.
This note is very important, because radiation is a very dangerous thing and you have to make sure you know the steps and for what you’re doing. Never take a risk.
Secondary radiation is developed from any matter being hit by primary radiation. Secondary x-rays have less penetrating energy than primary radiation. Acute (short term) effects of radiation result from high doses of whole body radiation, 100 rads and above. Clinically, a person may experience a mild and transient illness to death. It may occur minutes, hours, or weeks after the exposure. The median lethal whole body dose for humans is 450 rads. Chronic (long-term) effects of radiation can arrive years after the original exposure. It also may have cumulative effects on the somatic cells over the lifetime of the patient. Future generations may experience genetic
should still be responsible for the people that were exposed to the radiation is because it could spread and accidently cause other to suffer and could help support the people suffering from the radiation. Radiation is energy and it can come from unstable atoms or it can be produced by machines. Radiation travels from its source in the form of energy waves or energized particles. There are actually two kinds of radiation, and one is more energetic than the other. It has so much energy it can knock electrons out of atoms, a process known as ionization. This ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, so it poses a health risk by damaging tissue and DNA in genes. While there are other, less energetic, types of nonionizing radiation (including radio waves, microwaves—and visible light), this booklet is about ionizing radiation (Baes). According to illinoispoisoncenter, radiation comes from the sun and outer space, from man-made sources such as X-ray machines, and from some radioactive materials in soil. Even though radiation cannot technically spread from person to person, we encounter some radiation from foods, water, the air, our own bodies, and through medical procedures throughout our daily life and never usually receive too much that would cause
Medalia (2011) concludes that ionizing radiation, in other words radiation separate from harmless radio waves and light, has the ability to knock electrons out of atoms, causing a condition that produces an electrically charged atom that can damage human cells. Only a very small amount is needed to produce biological change. Symptoms include cancer, genetic mutations, sickness, vomiting, diarrhea, hemorrhaging, and at high doses, death within hours (Medalia 2011).
The impact on humans is more severe compared to the rest. The immune system has no way to prevent radiation. In fact, it causes a disease called Acute Radiation Syndrome, which basically means
Saturn has fascinated society for hundreds of years being the only planet whose rings are visible from Earth. Because of its distance from the Earth, exploration was not possible until the age of robotic spacecraft. Previous studies of Saturn and its surroundings were limited to data from flybys (Lebreton & Matson 2002). The Cassini Huygens mission consisted of a combination of an orbiter and a probe to fully explore the Saturnian system.
DNA can be damaged in two ways by radiation; directly broken by the radiation, or the radiation will ionize water molecules in the body and the free radical interacts with DNA strands and breaks them [1]. Even though repair is possible, it may be harder if both strands of the DNA are broken rather than just one, resulting in cell death or permanent damage to the DNA. Radiation is an important factor when planning for longer manned trips such as to Mars. Mars has no global magnetic field, and a very thin atmosphere so it cannot provide sufficient protection from radiation at the surface of the planet [2]. Earth’s multiple layers in its atmosphere blocks out most of the lethal forms of radiation.
“Pediatric Exposures to Ionizing Radiation: Carcinogenic Considerations” was exceedingly informative about the risks of ionizing radiation on the pediatric population. The main idea was centered around the understanding that children are much more sensitive to radiation than adults. Its focus was comprised of three main concepts which included evidence from accidental exposures, radiation therapy, and computed tomography scans. Each of these concerns were discussed in great detail by introducing supporting evidence for each and the changes that have been made to combat the observed and studied effects. The article was extremely successful in displaying that ionizing radiation has more of an effect on developing children than adults.
Ionizing radiationHelpIonizing radiationRadiation with so much energy it can knock electrons out of atoms. Ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, so it poses a health risk by damaging tissue and DNA in genes. has sufficient energy to cause chemical changes in cells and damage them. Some cells may die or become abnormal, either temporarily or permanently. By damaging the genetic material
High doses of radiation kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading, while at low doses radiation is used to see insides of the human body, such as x-rays (WebMD).
The most important factor of the three is the amount of the dose that the body absorbs - the amount of energy which deposits in the human body. The more energy absorbed by the cells, the greater amount of biological damage occurs. Health physicists refer to the amount of energy absorbed by the body as the radiation
Another major problem associated with humans in space flight is radiation poisoning [5]. Astronauts will be exposed to extremely high levels of ionizing radiation (radiation consisting of particles, x-rays, or gamma rays with sufficient energy to cause ionization—acquires a negative or positive charge) from cosmic rays and solar flares. Astronauts will “see” flashes of light while their eyes are closed, these are actually cosmic rays slashes through their brains [5]. This form of radiation can damage human cells, potentially leading to a diminished immune system and a higher risk of cataracts, cancer, heart disease, damage to the central nervous system
Since the historic journey into outer space by Yuri Gagarin, manned spaceflight and space exploration have generated and motivated astounding inventions and innovations. These discoveries and developments affect every single person on Earth, and have improved a wide range of fields including health, food, technology, entertainment, automobile, dental, medical, safety, sports, and many more industries.
Certain types of radiation, such as x-rays, rays from radioactive substances, and ultraviolet rays from exposure to the sun, can produce damage to the DNA of cells, which might lead to cancer.