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Hitch-hikers help to monitor space weather   The task of Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, is to gather the most energetic radiation that comes from space. The spacecraft was launched October 2002 and will help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy. Gamma rays are even more powerful than the X-rays used in medical examinations. Fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere acts as a shield to protect us from this dangerous cosmic radiation. However this means that gamma rays from space can only be detected by satellites. Integral is currently the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched. It detects radiation from the most violent events far away and from processes that made the Universe habitable.  The Space Radiation Environment Monitor (SREM) instrument provides data on the space weather conditions in the vicinity of the spacecraft and has already been flown on several ESA missions, including Integral (studying the solar particles and the Van Allen radiation belts in a highly eccentric orbit).
SREMs measure space radiation fluxes and the ‘radiation dose’, or the amount of energy from radiation absorbed by materials, counting energetic electrons, protons and heavy ions encountered during each mission. Release date: 7 November 2003 |