VOL. 5, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1968 J.

SPACECRAFT 207

Radiation Dosimetry on the Gemini and Apollo Missions

CARLOS S. WARREN,* JOSEPH C. LILL,| ROBERT G. RICHMOND^
AND WILLIAM G. DAVIS§
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas
^

U.S. astronauts are equipped with radiation-dose recording instrumentation. This paper
describes the dosimetry used on Gemini and that designed for use on Apollo. Radiation
doses received by Gemini crews varied between less than 10 mrad on the Gemini VIII mission
(Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott) and 779 mrad on the Gemini X mission (Michael
Collins). Particle spectrometers were flown on the Gemini IV and VII missions in order to
compare dose calculations to measurements. Radiation instrumentation for Apollo consists
of a particle spectrometer, rate-meters, integrating dosimeters, and passive dosimeters. The
rationale for each instrument is discussed. Calculated doses in the Apollo vehicle are pre-
sented for intense events in the last solar cycle.
Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on November 30, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29217

Introduction would be that for medical record purposes, so that a passive

system was developed and flown on the Gemini missions. It
I T is now generally recognized that radiation presents no
problem to low-altitude earth-orbit flights; limited excur-
sions to altitudes penetrating the Van Alien belt are also
consists of a badge of several components, measuring 2.1 X
1.7 X 0.25 in. and containing 500 mg of lithium fluoride
thermoluminescent powder (TLD), 600 JJL of nuclear emulsions,
possible without overexposing the spacecraft crew members. and several standard |8-, 7-, and neutron-sensitive films. The
In any case, accurate monitoring of the amount of radiation components are sandwiched between 0.011-in. poly vinyl-
exposure enables the mission to be modified, if necessary, to re-
duce the dose received by the crew.
Radiation exposure on the Apollo lunar missions is more
complex and uncertain, however. Once the spacecraft leaves Table 1 Radiation doses on Gemini, mrad
the protection of the earth's geomagnetic field, it becomes Flight Location Command pilot Pilot
vulnerable to energetic particles accelerated by solar flares.
These solar particle events vary widely in their frequency Gemini III Helmet <20 45 d= 20
of occurrence, their intensities, and their spectra. The pres- Right chest <20 <20
ent approach is to treat these events statistically and, using Left chest <20 39 zb 15
Thigh <20 <20
a model spectrum, express the probability of exposure to a Gemini IV Helmet 45 ± 4.5 69 dz 3.8
certain dose as a function of mission duration and the amount Right chest 40 =b 4.2 46 ± 4.6
of spacecraft shielding.l Left chest 39 dz 4.5 43 zb 4.7
Many other factors also have to be considered when dealing Thigh 43 =b 4.5 43 d= 4.5
with the problem of radiation exposure. For instance, the Gemini V Helmet 195 zb 19.5 172 =b 17.2
mission cannot be terminated quickly and the crew returned Right chest 173 =b 17.3 182 d= 17.2
to earth in the event of overexposure; two of the crew are Left chest 190 zb 19.0 140 =b 14.8
extremely vulnerable during operations on the lunar surface Thigh 183 =b 18.3 186 db 18.6
and while in transit from and to the Apollo command and Gemini VI Helmet 25 dz 2.8 31 dz 7.4
Right chest 26 d= 1.5 20 zb 1.5
service module (CSM). Fortunately, the CSM is shielded, Left chest 25 =b 2.1 24 d= 1.4
so that even the most severe flare hitherto recorded would not Thigh 24 =b 1.7 22 dz 0.2
overexpose the crew; however, the radiation exposure pos- Gemini VII Right chest 113 dz 13.6 231 =b9.0
sibility during lunar operations is a very real problem for Left chest 192 d= 10.8 105 dz 10.5
flight controllers, and must be considered. Thigh 178 ± 4 . 5 163 zb8.2
In addition are the everyday problems associated with in- Gemini VIII Helmet <10 <10
tegrating radiation monitoring equipment in a manned space Right chest <10 <10
vehicle. Problems concerning available space, weight, and Left chest <10 <10
power are always present; any monitoring system designer Thigh <10 <10
Gemini IX Helmet 15 zb 1 27 dz 1
must weigh the measurements that are considered essential Right chest 14 zb 1 22 dz 3
against those that are possible. This paper details the ap- Left chest 18 =h 1 17 =b 1
proach to these problems on Gemini and Apollo. Thigh 20 dz 3 22 zb 1
Gemini X Helmet 618 db 6 763 =b 6
Gemini Dosimetry Right chest 725 dz 6 763 dz 7
Left chest 769 ± 7 779 =b 13
The only radiation that spacecraft occupants receive that Thigh 626 d= 6 Not used
is not encountered on earth is that received during brief passes Active dosimeter: 910 mrad
Gemini XI Helmet 39 =b 1 34 =b 2
through the South Atlantic Anomaly region.2'3 It was de- 25 =b 1
Right chest 26 dz 3
cided, therefore, that the only dosimetry required on Gemini Left chest 27 dz 1 23 dz 1
Thigh 28 d= 3 25 zb 1
Received February 27, 1967; revision received October 20, Active dosimeter: 30 mrad
1967. Gemini XII Helmet <20 <20
* Technical Assistant, Space Physics Division. Right chest <20 <20
t Assistant Chief, Radiation and Fields Branch. Left chest <20 <20
J Head, Radiation Environment Section. Thigh <20 <20
§ Aerospace Technologist, Radiation Environment Section.
 208 WARREN, LILL, RICHMOND, AND DAVIS J. SPACECRAFT

package was built incorporating two tissue-equivalent ioniza-

tion chambers to read dose rate and integrated dose. Figure
1 shows the dosimeter package that was stowed for launch,
then placed on the spacecraft wall, where it remained until
re-entry. The dose rate was negligible throughout the flight
and the integrated dose recorded was 910 mrad. The differ-
ence between this reading and that of the TLD can be at-
tributed to the differences in local shielding by the spacecraft.
The same instrument was carried on Gemini XI, but had the
low reading of 30 mrad, as expected.
In dose calculations for shield design there are two main
sources of potential error: the source description and the
shielding geometry. In order to isolate the shielding geom-
etry description, the source was measured on the Gemini
IV and VII missions with an electron-proton spectrometer4;
these data were used to calculate the dose inside the Gemini
spacecraft. Table 2 compares the calculated and measured
doses, where the measured dose is the average of those shown
in Table!.

Fig. 1 Gemini X and XI ionization chambers. Apollo Dosimetry

Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on November 30, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29217

chloride film to make a soft, flexible package, four of which are Apollo dosimetry must be accurate and reliable while
installed in pockets on the astronaut's constant-wear gar- holding to the obvious requirements of minimum space, weight,
ment—one each on the right and left chest, one on the right and power. After considerable study, the following guide-
thigh, and one in the helmet over the right forehead between lines were established for the dosimetry design and mission
the helmet liner and helmet shell. The TLD can be read operation procedures:
immediately after flight. The emulsions, Ilford G-5 and 1) The Apollo CSM has sufficient structure to protect the
K-2, permit separate estimates of dose due to different com- crew adequately from even severe solar particle events.
ponents. The films, one Kodak type 2 double-component Table 3 lists the calculated doses inside the CSM for the most
pair and one Kodak NTA neutron monitoring type, provide a intense solar-flare particle events in the last solar cycle. The
densitometric readout capability in the event the emulsions depth dose is calculated at a tissue depth of 5 cm.
were overexposed. The entire photodosimeter package is 2) The most vulnerable part of the mission, with respect
assembled and analyzed by H. J. Schaefer of the U.S. Naval to radiation, is during lunar operations, when two of the crew
Aerospace Medical Institute at Pensacola, Fla. members are shielded only by the lunar module (LM) and/or
Table 1 details the doses measured thus far on Gemini with the space suit. Theoretically, the astronaut could receive
the TLD. Except for the Gemini V, VII, and X flights, all skin doses of several thousand rads in these circumstances,
doses are quite low. The Gemini V flight lasted 8 days and based on the events enumerated in Table 3. To preclude
reached apogees of 200 naut miles. Gemini VII was a 160- this possibility, a ground-based warning system will monitor
naut-mile circular orbit mission that lasted 14 days. Both the sun at rf and optical frequencies.5 Once word is received
of these flights were of much longer duration than any of the that an event has occurred, the crew can return to the CSM
others. The Gemini X flight, although short, reached a before the intense portion of the particles arrives.
higher altitude in the anomaly than any previous flight, 3) Both integrated dose and dose rate should be monitored,
spending almost 13 hr in a 158- X 413-naut-mile orbit. Four but primarily for surface dose. This became evident after
of the high-altitude orbits cut through the anomaly region. studies involving solar event spectral data and CSM shielding
Gemini XI reached a higher altitude than Gemini X, but geometry showed that doses that produce skin erythema are
was programmed to attain the apogee of 750 naut miles over probably not biologically significant at blood-forming-organ
Australia, deliberately away from the anomaly to protect a (BFO) depths. That is, the doses are well below the thresh-
nuclear emulsion cosmic ray experiment. Differences in old for nausea for the majority of the general population.
doses recorded on the same flights are attributed to local Should the BFO dose be required, a particle spectrometer on
shielding by spacecraft structure. the Apollo vehicle telemeters back real-time data that can
Because Gemini X and XI took man higher into the Van be used to calculate the depth dose.^
Alien belt than he had ever been, flight controllers at the 4) Since there is no one location in the vehicle that is repre-
Manned Spacecraft Center thought it desirable to have a sentative of the varied conditions of shielding which the as-
real-time dose readout capability throughout the mission. tronaut experiences, it is important that the integrating
Using prototype dosimeters developed for Apollo, a hybrid dosimeter be carried by each crewman, at least during a
particle event. Because only surface dose will be monitored,
READOUT
REGISTER —» the dosimeter can be made to be small, light, and completely
self-contained. Obviously, a 5- or 10-cm depth-dose measure-
\
\ Table 2 Calculated and measured doses, mrad, on
Gemini IV and VII

/ Gemini IV Gemini VII

Calculated Measured Calculated Measured

SENSOR :
WEIGHT :
4cc ION CHAMBER
0.44 LBS
ELECTRONICS

BATTERIES ———'
/ Electrons
Protons
Total
29.3
22.4
51.7
•
46
77.7
78.4
156.1 164
3
VOLUME : 5.4 IN

RANGE : 0-1000 RADS IN 0.01 RAD INCREMENTS

^ Since the time this was written, a rate-meter has been in-
stalled in the command module (CM) to telemeter skin and
Fig. 2 Apollo personal radiation dosimeter. 5-cm depth-dose rates at a fixed point within the CM.
 FEBRUARY 1968 RADIATION DOSIMETRY ON GEMINI ANDJAPOLLO 209

ment is not easily integrated into the crew member's wearing

apparel.
With the foregoing guidelines established, the following
radiation monitoring equipment was designed for the Apollo
lunar missions, and is now in the process of being built and
flight-qualified: 1) personal radiation dosimeters (PRD):
integrating tissue-equivalent ionization chambers carried by
each crewman, designed to measure surface dose; 2) radia- SENSOR: lOcc ION CHAMBER
WEIGHT: 1.5 IBS
tion survey meter (RSM): portable, hand-held tissue-equiv- VOLUME: 27 IN3
alent dose-rate meter carried in the command module and RANGE: 0-0.1
0-1.0
transferred to the lunar module for lunar operations; 3) pas- 0-10
RADS/HR
sive dosimeters: carried on each crewman as on the Gemini 0-100
flights; 4) nuclear particle detection system (NPDS): a
Fig. 3 Apollo radiation survey meter.
proton-alpha spectrometer carried on the service module that
telemeters spectral and flux data.
are color-coded to match the three constant-wear garment
colors. The TLD is to be read out at the NASA Manned
Personal Radiation Dosimeter Spacecraft Center (MSC) immediately after the mission.
The PRD, shown in Fig. 2, consists of a tissue-equivalent The readout system consists of 1) a stainless-steel heating
ionization chamber, necessary electronics, self-contained bat- planchet with high-current power supply, 2) a photomulti-
tery power supply, and signal readout. The wall thickness plier (PM) tube and high-voltage power supply, and 3) a
Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on November 30, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29217

of the ionization chamber is approximately equal to 1 mm of micro-microammeter and chart recorder for measurement
tissue plus the thickness of the astronaut's wearing apparel. and recording of the PM tube current as a function of the
The battery power supply furnishes the unit with up to 1200 planchet temperature. A jacket flowing cooled C02
hr of continuous operation. surrounds the PM tube to lower its temperature for minimum
The PRD has a range of 0-1000 rad in 0.01 rad/pulse dark current. The dark current and tube noise have been
increments, with a maximum pulse rate of 3 pulses/sec; the reduced to a dose-equivalent level <1 mrad.
maximum pulse rate corresponds to a dose rate of 108 rad/hr. A 50-mg sample of the TLD powder is placed in the heating
The ionization chamber has an active volume of 7.1 cm3 and planchet and the temperature of the TLD powder is raised
has a 7 sensitivity of approximately 10 ~12 amp/rad/hr. The to 240°C in 30 sec. This heating rate and maximum tem-
high-impedance input circuit, containing a field effect transis- perature provide an optimum signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for
tor (FET) for one stage of amplification and a relay to furnish data evaluation, and insure that the light curve peak will
the necessary charge feedback, is sealed in an evacuated can be recorded.
to minimize input circuit leakage. A five-digit electro- The lithium fluoride (LiF) light output is linearly related
mechanical register is used for readout. All circuitry in- to 7-ray dose, within ±10%, when crystal size, heating rate,
corporates the latest in transistor, welded circuit, and/or photomultiplier voltage, and thermal emission are held at
other micromodule techniques. The PRD is located on the "best" conditions. The best conditions occur at the PM
left thigh in a pocket of the Apollo suit. voltage which yields maximum S/N at a crystal size between
150- and 100-mesh Tyler and at a heating rate of 6°C/sec.
The thermal emission from the pan is held to a low value by
Radiation Survey Meter use of a Teflon shield.
The RSM for Apollo (Fig. 3) consists of a 10-cm3 tissue- The 0-7 films and emulsions from the packets are processed,
equivalent ionization chamber, solid-state circuitry, and self- developed, and analyzed by H. Schaefer. The "grain-count-
contained power supply and readout. The detector, con- ing" technique is used to determine spatial and spectral dis-
structed of a tissue-equivalent plastic and filled with ethylene tribution of the individual radiation components.
at 1 atm, has a 7 sensitivity of approximately 10 ~12 amp/rad/
hr. An FET is used in the front end of the instrument, re- Nuclear Particle Detection System (NPDS)
placing the conventional electrometer tube as a stage of
amplification. The alpha-proton spectrometer, the NPDS, is shown in
The wall thickness is such that readings reasonably cor- Fig. 4. Consisting of three solid-state detectors with absorb-
respond to a surface dose measurement. The linear readout ers interspersed, the telescope provides four energy incre-
is in four ranges, 0-0.1, 0-1, 0-10, and 0-100 rad/hr. A ments for protons and three increments for alphas. The
spring-loaded "snubbing switch" is provided to allow the energy ranges for the spectrometer are 15-150 Mev and 44-
meter to be locked at any reading. The instrument will 300 Mev for proton and alpha particles, respectively. Al-
operate continuously for 800 hr, or intermittently for 1200 though a larger number of channels would be desirable, the
hr without battery replacement. weight constraint (6 Ib for detection system and electronics)
is prohibitive. Particle type and energy determination is
Passive Dosimeters made by utilizing both coincidence and pulse height analysis
techniques. The unit has a total volume of 83 in.3 and a
The Apollo passive dosimeters are worn on the right chest, weight of 5.5 Ib, and consumes 1.60 w of spacecraft power.
left thigh, right ankle, and helmet locations. The packets The data from the spectrometer will be telemetered to
Table 3 Calculated doses in the Apollo CSM for ground control and will be used in three operational modes:
intense solar-flare particle events in the last solar cycle 1) to confirm the arrival of solar particles in the vicinity of
the command module, 2) to provide data for the calculation
Integrated flux, Depth dose, Surface dose, of doses in the command module, and 3) to provide informa-
Event date particles/cm2 rad rad tion for dose projection. Although the first solar-flare par-
23 Feb 1956 1.0 X 109 15.2 38.4 ticles to reach the NPDS will be of high energy, their mea-
10 May 1959 9.6 X 108 2.6 22.8 surement will confirm the general directionality of the particle
10 July 1959 1.0 X 109 4.7 27.2 event, i.e., the particles have arrived in the earth/moon
14 July 1959 1.3 X 109 2.9 29.6 region. As elapsed particle time increases, lower energy
16 July 1959 9.1 X 108 4.5 25.1 particles arrive and are detected, thereby permitting spectral
12 Nov 1960 1.3 X 109 9.6 39.9 measurements of the alpha and proton components. These
 210 WARREN, LILL, RICHMOND, AND DAVIS J. SPACECRAFT

DETECTOR-
DETECTOR ELEMENTS
Table 4 Solar particle event characteristic rigidities
ASSEMBLY
6.00"X 2.18" DIA.
QF RBE
Po,
Event date Mv a. Protons a. Protons
23 Feb 1956 260 4 1.2 2.2 1.0
TUNGSTEN ABSORBER-
10 May 1959 70 6 1.4 2.9 1.2
BERYLLIUM ABSORBER'"'
10 July 1959 75 6 1.4 2.9 1.2
14 July 1959 60 6.4 1.5 3.1 1.2
16 July 1959 100 5.4 1.4 2.7 1.1
-SIGNAL ANALYZER 12 Nov 1960 135 5.0 1.4 2.5 1.1
6.12" X 8.12" X 1.57"

to solar particle event spectra and the Apollo shielding geome-

E try. Figure 5 shows both RBE and QF for protons and alpha
particles as a function of characteristic spectrum rigidity
(momentum per unit charge) for a depth-dose point in the
Apollo command module. The particle rigidity P is related
to the kinetic energy T by
SPACECRAFT- P = OT2 + 277moC2)1/2/(£e)
ELECTRICAL
INTERFACE
where Ze is the particle charge and m0c2 is the rest mass energy.
Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on November 30, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29217

The spectra of most solar-flare particle events fit an exponen-

tial rigidity curve of the form
N(>P) = NQe-p/p°
E 12T
where N(>P) is the time-integrated flux of particles having
a rigidity greater than P, NQ is the total intensity of the event,
Fig. 4 Apollo nuclear particle detection system. and PQ is the characteristic rigidity of the e,vent. Table 4
lists characteristic rigidities of large solar particle events of
real-time spectra will be used as the source term for calcula- the last solar cycle and the corresponding average QF and
tion of doses at any point within the command module. The RBE at a depth-dose point in the Apollo CM for a spectrum
calculated doses will be compared with dosimeter readings, of that PQ. The combination of the low QF and RBE values
and the data will be used for a dose-time proj ection to imple- for the most intense solar particle events and the low depth
ment length-of-stay and/or abort decisions. dose that would have been received in the CM led to the con-
clusion that a measurement of rem on the Apollo mission was
unnecessary from an astronaut safety standpoint. Should
Rad or Rem this information be desired after the mission, sufficient in-
The dosimeters described have been designed to measure formation will have been recorded by the NPDS to allow a
absorbed dose (rad) rather than effective radiation dose (rem). calculation of either QF or RBE.
It is generally agreed that, whenever possible, the rem dose
should be measured, particularly in mixed radiation fields Conclusion
that produce widely varying degrees of energy deposition
per unit length [linear energy transfer (LET)]. It is also The Gemini and Apollo mission requirements have resulted
generally true that instrumentation necessary to measure in the development of highly specialized radiation-monitoring
the effective dose is more complex than the dosimeter that equipment to insure the safety of the astronaut in the space
simply measures the energy deposited in its volume. radiation environment. This equipment is adequate for the
The question of whether to measure rad or rem dose on the missions for which they were designed. However, future
Apollo missions has been examined in detail by personnel at space missions that dwell for long periods of time in the
the Manned Spacecraft Center since 1962. In particular, trapped radiation belts or spend long durations in interplane-
quality factors (QF) and relative biological effectiveness tary space will require a new generation of instrumentation.
(RBE) values recommended by the 1962 report of the RBE Specifically, dosimeters will be required to respond to dif-
Committee to the International Commision on Radiological ferent types of radiation in mixed fields. Measurement of
Protection (ICRP) and the International Commission on low dose-rate components and secondaries will become im-
Radiological Units and Measurements (ICRU) were related portant.

References
1
Modisette, J. L., Vinson, T. M., and Hardy, A. C., "Model
Solar Proton Environments for Manned Spacecraft Design,"
TN D-2746, April 1965, NASA, Washington, D. C.
2
Warren, C. S. and Gill, W. L., "Radiation Dosimetry Aboard
the Spacecraft of the Eighth Mercury-Atlas Mission (MA-8),"
TN D-1862, Aug. 1964, NASA, Washington, D. C.
3
Warren, C. S. and Baker, B. R., "Radiation Measurements
on the Ninth Mercury-Atlas Mission (MA-9)," TN D-2608,
Feb. 1965, NASA.
4
Marbach, J. R. and Womack, W. D., "Experiments MSC-2
and MSC-3, Proton/Electron Spectrometer and Tri-Axis Mag-
netometer," Gemini Midprogram Conference, NASA SP-121,
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Feb. 1966.
6
Higgins, P. W., "Operational Procedures for Apollo Dose Re-
Fig. 5 Average QF and RBE for depth dose inside the duction," Second Symposium on Protection Against Radiations in
Apollo CM as a function of spectrum characteristic rigidity. Space, NASA SP-71, Oct. 1964.