Cosmic ray investigations during the Marco Polo and Eneide missions with the Sileye-3/Alteino experiment

The Sileye-3/Alteino experiment is devoted to the measurement of the radiation environment and the cosmic ray nuclear abundance inside the International Space Station. Other goals include the investigation of the Light Flash phenomenon and the measurement of the shielding effectiveness of different materials. The detectors used are a silicon strip detector capable to detect cosmic rays up to Iron in the energy range above 60Mev/n and an electroencephalograph to monitor astronaut's brain activity. The experiment has been used during the Marco Polo (2002) and Eneide (2005) missions. Currently Sileye-3 is being employed in the framework of the ESA ALTCRISS project to perform a long term survey of the radiation environment on board the ISS. © 2007 Z-Tec Publishing.