The Martian Radiation Environment from Orbit and on the Surface

A good knowledge of the Martian radiation environment and its interactions with Mars is needed for many reasons. It is needed to help unfold the results of the Mars-2001 orbiter's gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) and neutron spectrometers (NS) to determine elemental abundances on the Martian surface. It is needed to interpret the measurements of the Martian Radiation Environment Experiments (MARIE) on both the Mars 2001 orbiter and lander. It is needed to calculate production rates of cosmogenic nuclides that will be measured in samples returned from Mars. It is needed to determine the doses that astronauts would receive in Martian orbit and especially on the surface of Mars. We discuss the two types of energetic particles in the vicinity of Mars and the nature of their interactions. Solar energetic particles (SEPs) occur very rarely but can have high fluxes that are dangerous in space. However, their energies are low enough that few solar energetic particles reach the surface of Mars. Their interactions can be fairly easily modeled because SEPs create few secondary particles. Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) have high energies and are the dominant source of energetic particles on the Martian surface, mainly secondary neutrons. Modeling their interactions is complicated because of the range of nuclei in the GCR and their high energies. Work at Los Alamos on GCR interactions will be presented.