Dec03
Star Trek-style shields could become reality
PARIS: Scientists believe they have found a way of shielding astronauts from a dangerous source of space radiation, thus lifting a major doubt clouding the dream to send humans to Mars.
Their breakthrough is reported this week in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion – it takes forward ideas born in the golden age of science fiction, including a proton shield used in the TV show Star Trek, say the researchers.
Solar storms
Space weather is one of the greatest challenges facing a manned mission to the Red Planet. Even the shortest round trip (the distance varies between 55 million and more than 400 million kilometers) would take at least 18 months.
During this time, the crew would be exposed to sub-atomic particles that whiz through space, capable of slicing through DNA like a hot knife through butter, and boosting the risk of cancer and other disorders.
The peril has been known for nearly half a century, but has seemed insoluble because costs and technological difficulty. Some experts have toyed with the idea of shielding the crew with lead or massive tanks of water, but the price of lifting this load into orbit from Earth is mind-spinning.
Another idea, born in the 1960s, would be to swathe a spaceship with a replica of Earth’s own magnetic field. Our weak two-pole field deflects incoming cosmic rays, protecting life on Earth as well as astronauts in low Earth orbit.
Source: Cosmos Online – click here or title for full article
