OBSERVATIONS OF THE LOW-EARTH-ORBIT RADIATION ENVIRONMENT FROM MIR

Recent measurements of the high-energy charged particle environment wi th the Radiation Environment Monitor (REM) aboard the Russian Mir spac e station are presented. Ionizing dose rates in a silicon detector hav e been measured with two shieldings. The dose is mainly accumulated in two distinct areas, the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the region o f closest approach to the magnetic poles. Whereas the radiation in the South Atlantic Anomaly varied little during 1995, large changes of th e daily absorbed doses in the polar regions are observed. A comparison of REM doses with the NASA AP-8 and AE-8 radiation models revealed ma jor differences. AP-8 tends to underestimate the average REM doses, wh ereas AE-8 overestimates REM doses, and rather describes the worst cas e. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd