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Comment on estimating the solar proton environment that may affect Mars missions
1Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate (VSBX), Bedford, MA 01731, USA.
Advances in Space Research : the Official Journal of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)
|February 13, 2003
Summary
Energetic proton environments for Mars missions differ from 1 AU observations. Two solar particle event classes exist: classical events scale radially, while shock-driven events do not.
Area of Science:
- Space Physics
- Astrophysics
- Planetary Science
Background:
- Estimating the energetic proton environment for Mars missions typically relies on extrapolating solar proton observations from 1 AU.
- Understanding these environments is crucial for astronaut safety and mission planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate between types of solar particle events.
- To determine how their characteristics change with radial distance from the Sun.
- To improve predictions for the energetic particle environment during Mars missions.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of solar particle event data.
- Categorization of events based on their source and propagation characteristics.
- Comparison of radial scaling behavior between different event types.
Main Results:
- Solar particle events can be classified into two main types.
- Classical events, originating from near-sun injections, follow classical power-law radial scaling.
- Shock-driven events, originating from extended interplanetary shocks, exhibit different radial scaling properties, with maximum flux occurring at the shock passage.
Conclusions:
- The classical power-law extrapolation is not universally applicable to all solar particle events.
- Mars mission radiation estimates require considering distinct event classes for accurate predictions.
- Shock-driven events pose unique challenges for radial scaling predictions due to their non-classical behavior.