Radiation Protection Research Recommendations for Missions Beyond LEO

At the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements prepared NCRP Report 153, Information Needed to Make Radiation Protection Recommendations for Space Missions Beyond Low-Earth Orbit. This lengthy report, over 400 pages in length, published in November 2006, was drafted by NCRP Scientific Committee 1-7, and is a continuation of NCRP Report 132, Radiation Protection Guidance for Activities in Low-Earth Orbit, which provided guidance on limiting radiation exposures on missions in low-Earth orbit. The new report provides research recommendations in the broad areas of the space radiation environment, radiation physics and transport, radiation dosimetry, radiation biology, and radiation risk assessment. In this work, an overview of the committee membership, and the report contents and research recommendations will be presented and discussed.