CAS CONNECT 2022

OSU technology testing radiation in space A main part of the radiation detector is the tissue equivalent proportional counter, which measures radiation with the same sensitivity as human tissue. Around 100 kilometers above the Earth, outer space starts. And right on that edge — called the Kármán line — is where a growing interest in space tourism and a need for new research is beginning. On that edge is also where a team of researchers at Oklahoma State University is focusing to understand how radiation works in the atmosphere and its impact on technology and people. Dr. Eric Benton, a radiation physicist at OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, is leading the research with his team at OSU and has a radiation detector set to fly on a Blue Origin rocket in 2023. The flight will be suborbital — flying up between 100 to 120 kilometers (around 60-75 miles), Benton said. It’s a very short flight, only about 11 minutes, he added. But while the flights are short, the radiation is considerably more intense than what a person will get on the ground, or while flying in a commercial jetliner. The duration of the flight means there isn’t much danger, but there is still a need to monitor radiation, Benton said. “It is prudent and ethical to pay attention to it and to measure it,” he said. “If something very strange happens physiologically with somebody, then you can probably rule out radiation as being the culprit because you would have independent measurements saying that the radiation level was really low or well within expected limits.” OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SC I ENCES 13