| dc.description.abstract | As the interest in space exploration becomes ever more relevant, so too do the health risks of space. For humans, the eyes are one of the most vulnerable organs to radiation. Though there is notable previous research that explored the holistic effects of cosmic rays on the body, much of this research either exclusively considered low-weight ions, which are far more common due to lower-energy solar radiation, or it analyzed dose-dependent, pathological effects such as cataracts or cancer. In this work, the Transport of Ions in Matter (TRIM) software was used to analyze the interactions, range, and damage that incident nuclei inflict on exposed eye tissue at 20 MeV, 1 GeV, and 10.08 GeV. This software simulated the interactions that high-energy, galactic cosmic rays would have on an astronaut's eyes. Through this, an in-depth analysis of the way that high-energy cosmic rays interact with the eyes of astronauts in space was performed to better understand the relationship between nuclear mass and range, ionization, straggling, the energy loss of incident ions, and tissue damage. The efficacy that practical, high-density polycarbonate and metal shielding has on protecting the eye from these incident ions was also tested. It was found that though the gold-coated polycarbonate visor was effective at protecting against lower-energy or heavier particles, it was ineffective at shielding against high-energy cosmic rays above 1 GeV. However, mere millimeters of lead and aluminum were found to effectively shield a vast majority of the damage from these incident particles. It was suggested that recent advancements in head-mounted devices such as virtual-reality headsets may permit the utilization of this radiation shielding while overcoming obstruction to visibility that may have otherwise been an issue. | en |
