Passive Radiation Shielding Investigations in Low Earth Orbit and in an Accelerator

Crews of future exploration missions will be exposed for long time to a unique powerful mix of cosmic radiation. Starting from REMSIM study for ESA, we are focusing on short and long term shielding experiments aboard ISS (ESCHILO, ALTCRISS, SOFOCLE) by comparing the materials used in inflatable structures with the typical rigid materials used in current spacecraft, and optimizing and validating the radiation shielding solutions in LEO. To assess shielding strategies, tests in flight are always supported by calculations and laboratory experiments. The paper reports descriptions and available results of the above experiments.