A team of students from McMaster University which has spent close to seven years creating a satellite to measure space radiation is set to finalize plans to deploy the device in outer space.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is welcoming the developers this week to finalize preparation of their CubeSat, a miniaturized satellite to further the understanding of long-term exposure to space radiation.
Operation Team Lead with McMaster’s NEUtron DOSimetry & Exploration (NEUDOSE) mission Taren Ginter says the idea was selected for the Canadian Cube Sat project in 2018. In simple terms, Ginter says it measures the effects of ionizing radiation on the human body.
Some of the financial backing for the project came in the form of $200,000 awarded to the McMaster developers by the CSA.
Ginter says as spaceflight and deep-space missions become a reality in the future, astronauts will likely have to face radiation that is distinct from the radiation experienced on earth.
The question the NEUDOSE mission is looking to answer is what kind and how much radiation astronauts will face on a multi-year mission in space.
“So our goal is to get a sense of those radiation differences and hopefully we can implement better safety precautions so that astronauts are protected,” Ginter explained.
The McMaster radiation detector is the size of a loaf of bread and is expected to be placed in a small satellite prior to being deployed into space, free floating like an astronaut would.
If it works properly, the device will send real-time radiation measurements back to the team at the university.
The device is the concept of Dr. Andrei Hanu, who came up with the idea while working at NASA as a research scientist.
Hanu led the first team of developers in 2015, jokingly referring to the device as the “igloo” due to its top which is dome-shaped.
However, Ginter says the satellite will actually look like a bunch of solar panels connected together due to the fact it needs to be charged by sunlight.
“But inside of the satellite, we have our charged and neutral particle tissue equivalent proportional counter, which is quite a mouthful,” Ginter said.
“So this is the actual payload of our satellite that will be looking at the radiation in low-earth orbit and then sending that information back down to ground station at McMaster.”
The NEUDOSE CubeSat will head to the CSA this week for a final step confirming it meets standards to be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS).
The life expectancy of the device is approximately one year in the Earth’s orbit after it’s been deployed.
The McMaster creation is earmarked for the ISS in February following launch from a SpaceX Dragon ship in Florida.