<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font color="#000000" style="">So...What’s Being Done to Protect Astronauts From
Radiation in Deep Space?</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;In 1982,<b>&nbsp;author James Michener&nbsp;</b>published
his sprawling Space Race novel, Space. In it, he describes a fictional Apollo
18 mission to the Moon. While the astronauts are on the surface, the Sun
unleashes a huge storm, trapping them outside of their protective capsule. The
two men get blasted by lethal amounts of radiation before they can get to
safety.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;They manage to make it back to their lander
but are so sick that they can’t fly back to rejoin their third crewmate in the
orbiting lunar command module. They end up crashing back to the surface and
dying. As grisly as this sounds, a radiation event like the one in Space poses
a very real challenge to space explorers. And, it’s this sort of scenario that
lunar mission planners want to avoid. Today, they’re working on ways to
mitigate exposure, and, if astronauts do get a dose of radiation, finding
medical methods to treat them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font color="#000000" style="">Space Weather and Radiation</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Solar outbursts send energetic particles our way via the solar wind
every day. They cause space weather, which interferes with communications
systems between Earth and the many missions in space (including ISS). It can
also seriously disrupt systems here on Earth. Space weather (and the solar
storms that cause it) intensify when the Sun is more active, during a period
called the solar maximum.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A massive coronal hole like the one
centered on the Sun on Friday, September 2, can erupt with extremely energetic
proton streams. Radiation from the particles poses a threat to humans in space
and spurs strong space weather events that can disrupt communications and other
technology. Courtesy: NASA/SDO.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It’s worth remembering that there has been at least
one “close call” with lunar explorers and potential solar activity. In 1972,
solar storms blasted out past Earth and the Moon. They disrupted satellite
communications as well as ground-based communications systems on Earth.
Luckily, no Apollo missions were impacted, although the storms occurred between
the Apollo 16 and 17 missions. Had they burst out during those missions, things
would have gone badly for the astronauts, who would have been sitting ducks
either on their way to the Moon or while on the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font color="#000000" style="">Artemis 1’s Radiation Studies</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc">
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Helvetica&quot;,sans-serif;
     mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Fortunately,
     there is a mission to study the radiation environment beyond Earth:
     Artemis 1. It’s important during this time as we head into solar maximum.
     When it flies, radiation and medical research will be a major focus of that
     mission.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Helvetica&quot;,sans-serif;
     mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">The
     Orion capsule has radiation monitors from NASA and ESA on board, along
     with specialized test mannequins. There are also CubeSats with experiments
     (such as genetically modified yeast that stands in for human reactions to
     radiation). These were all designed to study the radiation environment
     astronauts will face on the way to the Moon.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Helvetica&quot;,sans-serif;
     mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">Orion
     has radiation shielding, of course, to protect humans and technology.
     Future craft such as SpaceX’s Human Landing System will be well-shielded
     to protect astronauts on their way to the Moon and back to the planned
     Lunar Gateway.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Helvetica&quot;,sans-serif;
     mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">In
     the event of a very severe storm, astronauts could hide in onboard
     shelters until it’s safe. That’s what ISS crews did when the Sun let loose
     a particularly fierce outburst in September 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><img src="/media/django-summernote/2022-09-29/c27ad0d1-e03a-45ee-b0f7-17f96ca2b73d.jpg" style="width: 698.013px;"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; For its
part, ESA is working on the European Radiation Sensor Array (ERSA) project.
That’s a series of sensors to give real-time radiation monitoring on board the
future crewed lunar Gateway space station. The idea is to get measurements from
both inside and outside of crew capsules and habitats to understand radiation
risks and leaks. It’s also possible to include radiation sensors on uncrewed
lunar orbiters such as Lunar Pathfinder. Another possibility is to put sensors
on future lunar telecommunication satellites.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font color="#000000" style="">Predicting Solar Activity&nbsp;</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to shielding our astronauts and lunar explorers, it’s
important to explore the radiation environment between Earth and the Moon as
Artemis will do. But, we need more information about the solar outbursts
themselves. While astronomers know a lot about solar activity, we still need a
solid “early warning system” for solar storms. It could help alert astronauts
and lunar explorers in time to take safety measures.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp;That’s the goal of space weather researchers around the
world. Early observation of active regions on the solar disk occur is a major
goal of ESA’s 2029 Vigil mission. It will give warnings for potentially
hazardous space weather events that could endanger astronauts and explorers.
Other missions, such as SOHO, STEREO, Solar Dynamics Observatory, and the
Parker Solar Probe, provide valuable long-term data about the Sun’s activity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc">
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Helvetica&quot;,sans-serif;
     mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">&nbsp;
     &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<b>&nbsp;Aurorae were observed by ESA
     astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station
     for her Minerva Mission. She shared these images on her social media on 21
     August 2022 with the caption: "The Sun has been active lately. Last
     week we saw the most stunning auroras I have ever experienced in over 300
     days in space!"</b><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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