More May Not be Better: Enhanced Spacecraft Shielding May Exacerbate Cognitive Decrements by Increasing Pion Exposures during Deep Space Exploration

• DOI: 10.1667/rade-23-00241.1.s1
• Publication Date: 2024-01-04T00:04:16Z
• Authors: Marie-Catherine V...; Yasaman Alaghband; Olivia G. G. Drayson; Filippo Piaget; Ron Leavitt; Barrett D. Allen; Ngoc-Lien Doan; Tigran Rostomyan; Alberto Stabilini; Davide Reggiani; Wojciech Hajdas; Eduardo G. Yukihara; John W. Norbury; Claude Bailat; Laurent Desorgher; Janet E. Baulch; Charles L. Limoli
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Epidemiology; Radiation Protection / methods; Oncology and Carcinogenesis; Radiation Dosage; Medical and Health Sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Radiation Protection; Cognition; Theoretical and Computational Chemistry; Theoretical and computational chemistry; Health Sciences; Humans; Oncology & Carcinogenesis; Spacecraft; Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; Mesons; 500; Oncology and carcinogenesis; Biological Sciences; Space Flight; Chemical Sciences; Physical Sciences; Cosmic Radiation / adverse effects; Astronauts; Cosmic Radiation

AbstractThe pervasiveness of deep space radiation remains a confounding factor for the transit of humans through our solar system. Spacecraft shielding both protects astronauts but also contributes to absorbed dose through galactic cosmic ray interactions that produce secondary particles. The resultant biological effects drop to a minimum for aluminum shielding around 20 g/cm2but increase with additional shielding. The present work evaluates for the first time, the impact of secondary pions on central nervous system functionality. The fractional pion dose emanating from thicker shielded spacecraft regions could contribute up to 10% of the total absorbed radiation dose. New results from the Paul Scherrer Institute have revealed that low dose exposures to 150 MeV positive and negative pions, akin to a Mars mission, result in significant, long-lasting cognitive impairments. These surprising findings emphasize the need to carefully evaluate shielding configurations to optimize safe exposure limits for astronauts during deep space travel.