Radiation Physics – AMA Summer Internship

Job description

Job Description: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is sending astronauts back to the Moon with the Artemis missions and is preparing for future exploration to deep space and Mars. As NASA embarks on missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) and the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere and the geomagnetic field, astronauts are at greater risk because of the larger anticipated radiation exposures as compared to missions in LEO. The deep-space radiation environment is composed of a complex mixture of protons and heavier nuclei from the Sun (solar energetic particles - SEPs) and supernova explosions (galactic cosmic rays - GCRs). As particles in the space radiation environment collide with nuclei in spacecraft shielding materials and astronauts’ bodies, nuclear interactions occur, which may result in fragmentation of nuclei leading to a cascade of particles that irradiates the crew. Nuclear cross section models describe these nuclear interactions, and NASA’s deterministic radiation transport code, HZETRN, describes the propagation of the deep-space radiation environment, and any particles produced from nuclear collisions, through the shielding materials and into crew...