Matroshka experiments
international Space Station radiation research
The Matroshka (or Matroschka or Phantom) experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) use a mannequin that has been used to study cosmic radiation dose types and rates that relate to the health of space travellers on long duration missions.
The two-part experiment is named for the Matryoshka dolls or Russian nested doll that has various layers of dolls, with the inner layers revealed when the outer layers are opened. In this experiment, the doll has measured the radiation doses of the separate components of the ionizing cosmic radiation at the skin surface and at different locations inside a realistic human torso, in order to establish the relation between skin doses and organ doses.
Details
Matroshka is a human torso (mannequin), a base structure and a container. The container is a carbon fibre structure and formed, with the base structure, a closed volume that contained a dry oxygen atmosphere and protected the torso against space vacuum, space debris, solar UV and material offgassing. It also acts more generally as a simulation of a space suit worn by astronauts during a space walk. Temperature, pressure and experiment data were collected during the mission and transferred to the onboard computer system of ISS, then to the Earth stations for transmission to the experimenters. The torso uses commercial parts common to the field of radiotherapy; various instrumented 'slices' were composed of natural bones embedded in plastics simulating tissue and lung.
The principal investigator is Guenter Reitz, Ph.D. of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany.
MTR-1
Matroshka-1 (MTR-1) was sent to the ISS aboard the Soyuz-U/Progress M1-11 supply vehicle launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 24 January 2004, and was placed on the outside of the Russian Zvezda module during a spacewalk during Expedition 8 by Alexander Kaleri and Michael Foale on 15 March 2004, and brought inside during Expedition 11 on 18 August 2005 then the experimental elements were returned to Earth with that crew on 11 October 2005.
“Matroshka experiments” enters the record as international Space Station radiation research. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Matroshka, experiments and international can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Matroshka experiments” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Matroshka, experiments and international provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q1909009. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004 and 2005.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Matroshka experiments”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Matroshka experiments primary sources, Matroshka experiments archive and Matroshka research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Matroshka experiments”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Matroshka experiments” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.