Chancellor Jeffery C, Blue Rebecca S, Cengel Keith A, Auñón-Chancellor Serena M, Rubins Kathleen H, Katzgraber Helmut G, Kennedy Ann R
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 USA.
2Aerospace Medicine and Vestibular Research Laboratory, The Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ 85054 USA.
NPJ Microgravity. 2018 Apr 3;4:8. doi: 10.1038/s41526-018-0043-2. eCollection 2018.
Despite years of research, understanding of the space radiation environment and the risk it poses to long-duration astronauts remains limited. There is a disparity between research results and observed empirical effects seen in human astronaut crews, likely due to the numerous factors that limit terrestrial simulation of the complex space environment and extrapolation of human clinical consequences from varied animal models. Given the intended future of human spaceflight, with efforts now to rapidly expand capabilities for human missions to the moon and Mars, there is a pressing need to improve upon the understanding of the space radiation risk, predict likely clinical outcomes of interplanetary radiation exposure, and develop appropriate and effective mitigation strategies for future missions. To achieve this goal, the space radiation and aerospace community must recognize the historical limitations of radiation research and how such limitations could be addressed in future research endeavors. We have sought to highlight the numerous factors that limit understanding of the risk of space radiation for human crews and to identify ways in which these limitations could be addressed for improved understanding and appropriate risk posture regarding future human spaceflight.
尽管经过多年研究，但对空间辐射环境及其对长期执行任务的宇航员所构成风险的了解仍然有限。研究结果与人类宇航员群体中观察到的实际效应之间存在差异，这可能是由于众多因素限制了对复杂空间环境的地面模拟以及从各种动物模型推断人类临床后果。鉴于人类太空飞行的未来规划，目前正在努力迅速扩大人类前往月球和火星任务的能力，因此迫切需要增进对空间辐射风险的理解，预测行星际辐射暴露可能产生的临床结果，并为未来任务制定适当有效的缓解策略。为实现这一目标，空间辐射和航空航天界必须认识到辐射研究的历史局限性以及如何在未来的研究工作中解决这些局限性。我们试图强调限制对人类宇航员空间辐射风险理解的众多因素，并确定解决这些局限性的方法，以增进对未来人类太空飞行的理解并采取适当的风险应对措施。
