Tag Archives: solar energetic particles

Space radiation increasing, becoming more hazardous for human explorers

As future missions look to travel back to the Moon or even to Mars, new research in Space Weather cautions that the exposure to radiation is much higher than previously thought and could have serious implications on both astronauts and … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Large solar storm sparks global aurora, doubles radiation levels at surface

An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars this month, observed by NASA missions in orbit and on the surface. “NASA’s distributed set of science missions is in the right place to detect activity on the Sun and examine … Continue reading

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Collateral damage from cosmic rays increases cancer risk for Mars astronauts

The cancer risk for a human mission to Mars has effectively doubled following a University of Nevada Las Vegas study predicting a dramatic increase in the disease for astronauts traveling to the red planet or on long-term missions outside the … Continue reading

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Mars mystery plumes caused by space weather?

Mysterious high-rise clouds seen appearing suddenly in the martian atmosphere on a handful of occasions may be linked to space weather, say Mars Express scientists. [The results are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Amateur astronomers using telescopes on … Continue reading

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Protecting Mars astronauts from space radiation

On Aug. 7, 1972, in the heart of the Apollo era, an enormous solar flare exploded from the sun’s atmosphere. Along with a gigantic burst of light in nearly all wavelengths, this event accelerated a wave of energetic particles. Mostly … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Exploring solar wind beyond Earth

As part of its goal to explore Mars’ upper atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun and the solar wind, MAVEN is exploring propagation of the solar wind and solar energetic particles (SEPs) beyond 1 Astronomical Unit [the distance between … Continue reading

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