Board Members

Abstract

At the request of NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the ASEB formed a committee to evaluate the radiation shielding requirements for human spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars, and to recommend a strategic plan for developing the necessary radiation mitigation capabilities to enable the planned lunar architecture. The Committee on Evaluation of Radiation Shielding for Space Exploration was tasked to review current knowledge of the space radiation environment, assess the understanding of risks associated with human lunar exploration activities, review shielding approaches and capabilities, and recommend a strategy for reducing these risks, including technology investments. These strategies were to address the radiation exposure limits specified by NASA and to be consistent with NASA’s current timelines. The committee was also to consider the likely radiation mitigation needs of future human missions to Mars and give higher priority to research and development alternatives that would enhance NASA's ability to eventually meet those needs. The committee, chaired by former astronaut James (Ox) van Hoften, was formed in fall 2006, and met four times during 2006 and 2007. The committee’s report, Managing Space Radiation Risk in the New Era of Space Exploration, was released in April, 2008.