Long duration space flight

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The number of astronauts who have been in space for a long time is steadily increasing. The number people who have spent more than a year in space currently numbers 52. [1]

The longest time spent in space is currently 878 days, 11 hours, & 29 minutes, by Gennadi Ivanovich Padalka of the USSR.


Cumulative Radiation Exposure

The radiation received in the International Space Station is 144 milliSievert / year. This is about 28% of the radiation dose of a 2.5 year Mars mission (assuming a mission where the total radiation exposure is 520 mSv over 2.5 years). See the Mars Direct Mission, described in the "Case for Mars", by Robert Zubrin.

This number does not mean much, but these values might give some perspective:

  • the average radiation on Earth is 6.2 mSv per year.
  • the average radiation in the city Ramsar, Iran is 260 mSv / year. (The people in this city does not show any health effects from this high dose. A maximum safe value?)

See: [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

  • the radiation (from cosmic rays) in Vancouver B.C (at sea level) is 0.30 mSv / year.
  • the radiation (from cosmic rays) from the top of Mt. Lorne, Yukon (at 2,000 m) is 0.84 mSv / year.[8]


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References: