Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021 - 21

craft's systems including demonstrating
Earth departure and return operations
and practicing emergency procedures,
among other activities.
Protecting the Crew
While Orion is designed with systems
and materials to keep the crew safe during
their journey, leaving the protection
of Earth's magnetosphere exposes astronauts
to
a radiation environment in
space that scientists and engineers at
Johnson Space Center in Houston are
working hard to protect against.
To limit risks, the team is developing a
way to make use of the mass onboard the
spacecraft to protect the crew and has
conducted evaluations to test procedures
for getting astronauts into their protective
environment as quickly as possible.
The goal is to limit the risk of radiation
exposure over an astronaut's lifetime.
Orion will be equipped with a radiation-sensing
instrument integrated into
the vehicle called the Hybrid Electronic
Radiation Assessor (HERA) to provide a
warning if crewmembers need to take
shelter in the case of a radiation event
such as a solar flare.
In such an event, astronauts will position
themselves in the central part of the
crew module largely reserved for storing
items they'll need during flight and create
a shelter using the stowage bags on
board. The method protects the crew by
increasing mass directly surrounding
them and therefore making a denser
environment that solar particles would
have to travel through, while not adding
mass to the crew module itself.
If the warning were to sound, the
crew would create the shelter within an
hour and in some cases would need to
stay inside for as long as 24 hours. Using
the stowage bags onboard that will contain
supplies, food, and water - in combination
with Orion's seats - astronauts
can construct the shelter by strategically
placing denser bags in areas of the
vehicle with less radiation-protecting
materials. For example, the bottom of
Orion - where the heat shield and ser -
vice module are attached - will provide
more shielding than other areas,
and stowage bags can be used for parts
of the spacecraft's
shielding.
interior with less
The evaluation also includes assessing
ways to tie down the stowage bags, where
to locate tubing to provide air to the
shelter, and the best ways to get in and
out of it.
Tech Briefs, November 2021
Cov
NASA's Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit is designed for a custom fit and will protect astronauts
during launch, reentry, and emergency situations during Artemis missions. (NASA/Joel
Kowsky)
The Orion Suit
When astronauts are hours away from
launching on Artemis missions, they'll
don an orange spacesuit called the
Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS). It is
designed for a custom fit and is equipped
with safety and mobility features to help
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ToC
protect astronauts on launch day, in
emergency situations, in high-risk parts
of missions near the Moon, and during
the high-speed return to Earth.
Many missions require two spacesuits:
one worn outside a spacecraft during
spacewalks that is designed as a self21
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Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021

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