site.btaFirst Data Received from Bulgarian Instrument Aboard Proton-M Rocket

First Data Received from Bulgarian Instrument Aboard Proton-M Rocket

Sofia, April 12 (BTA) - The Bulgarian dosimeter on board of the Russian Proton- M rocket has begun to send data. The rocket was launched as part of the ExoMars programme from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 14 2016. The equipment is operating normally in all modes.

ExoMars is a collaboration led by the European Space Agency (ESA) in partnership with the Russian national space agency, State Corporation Roskosmos.

The Bulgarian Liulin-Mo dosimeter has been designed by the Space Research and Technology Institute with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The received data about radiation in the interplanetary space at 7.5 million km from Earth show an average dose of galactic cosmic rays of 15 micrograys per hour and the average flux of particles is 2.9 per square centimeter per second. The data suggest that astronauts in a future mission will be exposed to higher than normal level radiation.