Experiments for light flash observation in space

Semiconductor detectors can be of great help for the study of radiation-ind uced effects on living objects and men in space. Here we present three proj ects: the Sileye 1 and 2 and ELFO. The Sileye detector series are the first particle detectors flown in space made by the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN). The detectors consist of six silicon views made of a squar e (6 x 6 cm(2)) wafer of silicon, divided into 16 strips, each 3.6 mm wide. The first detector is on board MIR since October 1995; the second apparatu s, Sileye2, was brought on MIR on October 1997 and it will be turned on in February 1998. Here we will present briefly the results obtained with Siley e1 and the performances of the second apparatus. The ELFO project is a much more ambitious one and it is planned for the International Alpha Station. Here we will review scheme and purpose.