Insights in Aviation Radiation Weather Monitoring with ARMAS

Radiation hazards at commercial aviation altitudes up to suborbital space have been known for decades including those from galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs), and more recently phenomena associated with radiation belt particle precipitation (RBPP). The complex radiation field that derives from these primary particle sources creates safety concerns for aerospace crew and passengers. Because of this safety hazard, the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) program was developed to provide global aerospace radiation environment monitoring. The ARMAS program has achieved monitoring from the surface of the Earth, through Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and to the surface of the Moon with aircraft, high altitude balloons, suborbital vehicles, satellites and ISS flights, as well as the NASA CLPS Intuitive Machines Mission 2. We focus on latest results that highlight space weather effects on aviation using i) the first measurements on an aircraft flight during the May 2024 Gannon G5 extreme storm that included CMEs, SEP, GLE, and a Forbush decrease; ii) trans-Siberian sector radiation monitoring with TEPC plus ARMAS and how it differs from North America; iii) the 30-day balloon flight with gamma ray and ARMAS TID simultaneous observations and how the radiation environment inside the cabin comes from various sources; and iv) the progress towards 24/7 atmospheric monitoring from the perspective of the ARGOS stratospheric monitoring platforms.