Six Timepix chips developed at CERN will measure the radiation environment in the spacecraft that will orbit the Moon during NASA’s Artemis II mission.
At 00:35 CEST today, the mission of Artemis II successfully began, marking the first manned trip to the Moon since 1972. During their ten-day journey in the Orion spacecraft, the four astronauts are expected to receive tens of millisieverts of radiation, more than ten times what most people have in a whole year on Earth. It is important to understand and manage these exposures so that people can continue to explore the area safely.
This is actually part of the six Timepix chips on board the Artemis II. Developed at CERN, it was installed in collaboration with ADVACAM, CERN’s partner in photo scanning technology. The chips form part of NASA’s Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor (HERA) system, designed to monitor the radiation environment inside Orion’s spacecraft. The system will measure the shape, strength and power of incoming particles in real time, helping scientists to assess radiation exposure to crew members and electronic equipment on board.
Unlike low-Earth orbit missions, such as those on the International Space Station, Artemis II will travel beyond the protection of Earth’s geomagnetic field. During the trip, the astronauts will pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, which are regions of trapped particles that greatly increase their overall radiation. They will also face high levels of galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events, high-energy radiation that can affect human health and sensitive electronic equipment. In such areas, real-time radiation monitoring and identification and real-time response are important, especially in the case of sudden radiation events, such as coronal mass ejections, which can rapidly increase exposure.
The Timepix detectors were developed by the CERN-hosted Medipix2 Collaboration, which develops hybrid pixel detector technologies for imaging and measuring radiation. Based on hybrid pixel detectors, a technology originally designed for physics experiments, the Timepix detectors are closely related to the detectors used in the Large Hadron Collider to detect particles produced by high-energy collisions. Over time, the technology has been adapted for space applications with contributions from many partners. For Artemis II, Timepix-based systems have been used in collaboration with ADVACAM and will contribute to radiation measurements during the mission.
Based on Timepix technology, each chip has a matrix of pixels that can detect individual particles and measure the energy they have placed. When combined with the shape of the tracks left in the sensor, this allows different types of radiation to be selected. Despite their size, the detectors provide detailed spatial and power information, which makes them well suited to mixed radiation environments.
It’s not the first time Timepix has gone into space. Timepix technology has been used in space for over a decade. First used on the International Space Station in 2012, it has since supported radiation studies in orbit and is now integrated with instruments such as HERA for advanced missions.
As humanity returns to the Moon and prepares to travel into deep space, understanding radiation exposure becomes even more important. The data collected by the Timepix chips during the Artemis II mission will provide new information about the radiation environment that passes through the Earth’s orbit and its effect on both space stations and the health of the crew. These measurements will help improve radiation models, evaluate protection strategies and improve risk assessment for future missions.
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