MATSIM: Development of a voxel model of the MATROSHKA astronaut dosimetric phantom exposed onboard ISS

The Austrian Institute of Technology coordinates the project MATSIM (MATROSHKA Simulation) in collaboration with the Vienna University of Technology and the German Aerospace Center, to perform FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations of the MATROSHKA numerical phantom under the radiation environment at the International Space Station (ISS). MATSIM is carried as co-investigation of the ESA ELIPS project MATROSHKA, an international collaboration of more than 18 research institutes and space agencies from all over the world, under the science and project lead of the German Aerospace Center. MATROSHKA is an ESA facility designed to determine the radiation exposure of an astronaut during an extravehicular activity at the ISS. During the project MATSIM a computer tomography scan of the MATROSHKA phantom has been converted into a high resolution 3-dimensional voxel model. The imparted energy and dose inside the model is determined. Part of the project is the phantom validation under reference radiation conditions. Investigations are carried out under ISS cosmic radiation conditions. The aim of the MATSIM project is the provision of comprehensive risk assessment of radiation hazard to humans in space due to ionising high energy particle radiation.