Guest: Irene Schneider. Topics: IHRENES SPACE ENTERPRISES (ISE), space radiation. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Irene Schneider back to the program to tell us about her new company, IHRENES SPACE ENTERPRISES (ISE), and space radiation issues. Visit the ISE website for more information, www.ihrenesspaceenterprises.com. Ms. Schneider started our discussion by telling us about the ISE unique computer simulation codes to plan and design space missions. She also talked about radiation protection from the very start of the mission planning process, not at the very end. This includes hardware and materials design from beginning to mission operation. One of the early questions from listeners asked about the radiation analysis/claims reported by Dr. Zubrin in his manned Mars mission plans. As you will hear, Ms. Schneider had much to say about this, correcting many errors about radiation matters in the Zubrin statement. Don't miss what Irene had to say in response to this listener question. One of the key points she made in responding to this question and throughout the show was the absence of data for deep space human missions. Without good data, it is very hard to back up radiation claims. Other issues discussed included the accumulated radiation dosage over time, the Earth's magnetic field shielding us, & the difference in radiation in LEO as compared to deep space. Later in this segment, listeners asked about using water or dirt for shielding. This led Irene to discuss the need for dual and triple purpose materials for shielding. We talked about the single purpose of dirt & its mass which does not bode well for cost effective deep space missions. In our second segment, we learned that ISE is working with the FAA AST, Penn State, UND, and others regarding radiation safety issues. With Penn State, ISE has an SBIR partnership for code development. Also in this segment, we talked about space and general news media reporting on radiation along with science issues. Surprise Surprise, media reports are often not very thorough or accurate. Irene talked about the philosophy of doing the minimum that is reasonable in terms of planning & development to stay within radiation limits. We talked about astronauts as radiation workers along with NASA & Russian limits. She was asked about the radiation mission differences in a flyby of a NEO as compared to landing on Mars. Later we talked about advanced radiation solutions such as nano cell repair & anti-oxidant usage for preventing & repairing radiation damage. Later in this segment, space settlement came up in terms of children & pregnancy. This prompted an important discussion, the possible need for mammal experiments or more to answer questions about pregnancy, birth, & children in microgravity as well as the space radiation environment. Toward the end of our discussion, Irene again went over the mission & goals of ISE, and the need for companies to address radiation issues early on in their design work & mission planning. Please post your comments & questions on the blog URL above. You can contact Irene through the website or by using contact@ihrenesspaceenterprises.com & referencing Space Show in the subject line.
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