ATLANTA — As Artemis astronauts venture farther from Earth than ever before, a local Georgia company is helping to keep them safe.
Astronauts will wear crew active dosimeters, developed by NASA and Atlanta-based Mirion Technologies, to monitor radiation levels throughout the mission.
The pocket-sized devices will provide astronauts with personal radiation monitoring during the Artemis program’s first crewed flight.
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Such information is vital for safety, as astronauts travel beyond the protection of Earth’s atmosphere.
“There are a lot of dangers in space. But one of the primary dangers that astronauts face is the radiation background that’s in space,” Tighe Smith, Mirion Chief Nuclear Officer, said. “And so in crewed missions, the astronauts get exposed to more radiation than they would on Earth, and that radiation has a higher energy level as well.”
The dosimeters provide astronauts with insight into how radiation levels change throughout a mission.
“How much exposure do I have, and where was I when I got that exposure?” Smith said.
The technology will also help NASA plan for future exploration, including a possible lunar base or missions to Mars.
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“We can extrapolate exposure data for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars,” Smith said. “It enables us to think about keeping astronauts safe, not just for weeks, but for months or even years.”
Currently, Mirion’s radiation-tracking technology is used worldwide to monitor radiation at sites such as nuclear power plants.
However, they also hope to continue playing a role in future lunar and Martian missions as NASA looks beyond Earth.
“As a kid, you never think you’ll touch something like this,” Smith said. “But then you find yourself with the opportunity to actually be a part of it.”
This is not the first time Mirion has worked with NASA. The company has supplied dosimeters for astronauts on the International Space Station since 2020 and contributed to Mars rover missions.
“It’s not just the mission to the moon, but all of our missions that involve big science. Where our technology detected water on Mars, on the Mars Rover, that was Mirian spectroscopy equipment,” Smith said.
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