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The experiment Sileye-3/Alteino is constituted by a cosmic-ray silicon detector and an electroencephalograph. The main scientific aims include the investigation of the Light Flash phenomenon, the study of astronaut brain activity in space when subject to cosmic rays, the measurement of cosmic rays and the radiation environment inside the International Space Station. The experiment was operating on board the station from 27 April to 5 May 2002. The cosmic-ray detector is composed of eight silicon strip planes triggered by two scintillators placed on top and bottom of the stack. The detector is capable of identifying nuclei from B to As in the energy range above ≃60 MeV/n. Also protons and lighter particles are registered although with a reduced efficiency. The instrument was active in the Pirs module of the station for 130 h. In this work, we describe the silicon strip detector characteristics and its calibration performed using cosmic-ray nuclei.

The ALTEA project, an international and multi-disciplinary collaboration scheduled to fly in the International Space Station (ISS) after July 2006, is aimed at studying particle radiation in space environment and its effects on astronauts, in particular the anomalous perception of ‘light flashes’. In this paper, we present experimental results obtained by testing the Flight Model of the ALTEA particle detector in two measurement sessions performed at the heavy ion accelerator of GSI laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany. Instrument response was compared with Monte-carlo simulations to study its linearity and calculate amplification.

The ALTEA program is an international and multi-disciplinary collaboration aimed at studying particle radiation in space environment and its effects on astronauts, in particular the anomalous perception of Light Flashes. This paper describes ALTEA space facility scheduled to fly in the International Space Station (ISS) after July 2006, what kind of data are produced and how data are transmitted to Earth, processed and analyzed. 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

The ALTEA project investigates the risks of functional brain damage induced by particle radiation in space. A modular facility (the ALTEA facility) is being implemented and will be operated in the International Space Station (ISS) to record electrophysiological and behavioral descriptors of brain function and to monitor their time dynamics and correlation with particles and space environment. The focus of the program will be on abnormal visual perceptions (often reported as "light flashes" by astronauts) and the impact on retinal and brain visual structures of particle in microgravity conditions. The facility will be made available to the international scientific community for human neurophysiological, electrophysiological and psychophysics experiments, studies on particle fluxes, and dosimetry. A precursor of ALTEA (the 'Alteino' project) helps set the experimental baseline for the ALTEA experiments, while providing novel information on the radiation environment onboard the ISS and on the brain electrophysiology of the astronauts during orbital flights. Alteino was flown to the ISS on the Soyuz TM34 as part of mission Marco Polo. Controlled ground experiments using mice and accelerator beams complete the experimental strategy of ALTEA. We present here the status of progress of the ALTEA project and preliminary results of the Alteino study on brain dynamics, particle fluxes and abnormal visual perceptions. c2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The experiment Sileye-3/Alteino was placed on board the International Space Station on 27 April 2002. The instrument is constituted by a cosmic ray silicon detector and an electroencephalograph. The main scientific aims include the investigation of the Light Flash phenomenon, the study of astronaut brain activity in space when subject to cosmic rays, the measurement of the radiation environment and the nuclear abundances inside the ISS. The instrument cosmic ray detector was active for 130 hours. In addition 6 astronaut Light Flash observation sessions were held, resulting in the observation of this phenomenon on the ISS.

The experiment Sileye-3/Alteino was first operational on board the International Space Station between 27/4 and 1/5/2002. It is constituted of a cosmic ray silicon detector and an electroencephalograph and is used to monitor radiation environment and study the light flash phenomenon in space. As a stand-alone device, Sileye-3/Alteino can monitor in real time cosmic ray nuclei. In this work, we report on relative nuclear abundance measurements in different regions of the orbit for nuclei from B to Fe in the energy range above ≃60 MeV/n. Abundances of nuclei such as O and Ne relative to C are found to be increased in respect to particle composition outside of the station, whereas the Fe group is reduced. This effect could be ascribed to nuclear interactions with the hull of the station.

The ALTEA project participates to the quest for increasing the safety of manned space flights. It addresses the problems related to possible functional damage to neural cells and circuits due to particle radiation in space environment. Specifically it aims at studying the functionality of the astronauts' Central Nervous Systems (CNS) during long space flights and relating it to the peculiar environments in space, with a particular focus on the particle flux impinging in the head. The project is a large international and multidisciplinary collaboration. Competences in particle physics, neurophysiology, psychophysiology, electronics, space environment, data analyses will work together to construct the fully integrated vision electrophysiology and particle analyser system which is the core device of the project: an helmet-shaped multi-sensor device that will measure concurrently the dynamics of the functional status of the visual system and passage of each particle through the brain within a pre-determined energy window. ALTEA is scheduled to fly in the International Space Station in late 2002. One part of the multi-sensor device, one of the advanced silicon telescopes, will be launched in the ISS in early 2002 and serve as test for the final device and as discriminating dosimeter for the particle fluences within the ISS.