Download Space Weather and its Planetary Connection: Future

Space Weather and its Planetary
Connection: Future
Interplanetary Travel
Norma B. Crosby1 and Volker Bothmer2
Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium
Institute for Astrophysics, University of Göttingen, Germany
1
2
Credits: ESA
http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc2006/index.html
The first “European Planetary Science Congress” was held in
Berlin, Germany from 18 to 22 September 2006, its aim being
to cover a broad area of science topics related to planetary science
and planetary missions.
Ideal platform to link traditional near-Earth space weather
studies to planetary studies - in this way the workshop session
“MA4 Interplanetary Space Weather and its Planetary Connection”
was organized (N. Crosby and V. Bothmer):
- Oral presentations: 14:30-16:30
- Coffee/Tea break: 16:30-17:00
- Discussions [ brainstorming session ]: 17:00-19:00
MA4 Oral Presentations
Solicited Talks:
 Solar Energetic Particles: the Current Status of their Origin and
Space Weather Effects (Mikhail Panasyuk)
 Radiation Protection for Manned Interplanetary Missions –
Radiation Sources, Risks, Remedies (Rainer Facius)
Contributed Talks:
 The Relationship of Satellite Anomalies and Launch Failures to
the Space Weather (Natalia Romanova)
 Galactic Cosmic Ray Composition, Spectra, and Time Variations
(Mark Wiedenbeck)
 Space Weather Effects on the Mars Ionosphere due to Solar
Flares and Meteors (Paul Withers)
Session MA4 – Brainstorming Session from 17:00-19:00
Today in Lecture Room: Straßburg
Interplanetary Space
 Radiation environments
 Technical and biological effects
 Timescales of radiation exposure as a function of energy
and effect (technical and biological).
Atmospheres on other Planets
 With/without magnetospheres.
Mitigation Techniques
 Shielding (in space and on other planets)
 Forecasting
 Detector technology.
Why go Interplanetary ?
 Manned missions to other planets
 Colonies on other planets (e.g. Mars)
 Mining on other planets, moons,
asteroids
 Space tourism - Space hotels
 Terra-forming
 Transportation technology development
(propulsion, nuclear, etc.).
Why go Interplanetary ?
– cont.
For interplanetary travel a strong understanding of
space weather is essential.
 interplanetary space weather (inter-disciplinary)
supports all space weather projects
 one form of space weather research can not live
without the other (they complement each other).
The Perils of
Interplanetary Travel
Space Weather from Earth’s Perspective
 Our location in the solar system.
Earth’s magnetic field
shields us against highenergetic particles.
http://www.nineplanets.org/
 Behavior of the Sun,
 Nature of Earth’s magnetic field
and atmosphere.
Images from NASA
The Perils of
Interplanetary Travel
3. Solar
Proton Events
2. Galactic
Cosmic Rays
AURORA Programme. Courtesy of ESA.
1. Earth’s
Radiation Belts
Courtesy of NASA's Solar Connections Home Page.
The Perils of
Interplanetary Travel
Major Radiation Environments in our Heliosphere
Particle
Populations
Energy
Range
Temporal
Range
Spatial Range
(first order)
Galactic Cosmic Rays
GeV - TeV
Continuous
Entire heliosphere
Anomalous Cosmic Rays
< 100 MeV
Continuous
Entire heliosphere
Solar Energetic Particles
keV-GeV
Sporadic (minutes to
days)
Source region properties (CME
evolution) and bound to
CME driven shock
Energetic Storm Particles
keV-(>10 MeV)
Hours-Day
Bound to shock
Corotating Interaction
Regions
keV-MeV
few days
(recurrent)
Bound to CIR shock and
compression region
Particles accelerated at
Planetary Bow Shocks
keV-MeV
Continuous
Bound to bow shock
eV-couple of hundreds of
MeV
Variations “minutesyears”
Variations
“height-width”
Trapped Particle
Populations
- Electromagnetic radiation (e.g. UV, X-ray, γ-ray)
- Plasma (energetic (keV) and low-energy (eV))
- Neutrals (Space debris and meteoriods)
Avoiding Space
Weather Hazards
There exists various approaches:
1. Space Weather Forecasting
« Warning Guidance »
2. Mitigation shielding
3. Hazard Assessment
The key of understanding radiation
protection requires knowledge about the
space environment and particle interaction
with shielding materials. An important issues
concerning shielding is the problem of
secondary radiation in materials.
- New forms of shielding materials are
imagined and more impetus should be
placed on polymer research in regard to the
development of resistant light weight
shielding.
- Of course the faster the trip the better, i.e.
development of innovative transportation
technologies and new propulsion systems as
well as orbit optimization are highly
important.
(EXCESSIVE MASS, SIZE and COST)
Avoiding Space
Weather Hazards
 Spacecraft shielding requirements, including space storm
shelters, both on the spacecraft as well as radiation
protection facilities on the target (e.g. Moon, planet),
need to be taken into consideration with respect to travel
time, local target space weather conditions and the phase
of the solar cycle.
 It is therefore recommended, especially for a flight to
Mars to implement onboard forecasting capabilities.
Avoiding Space
Weather Hazards
Timing of an Interplanetary Space Mission
 The biological effect of a radiation dose received over the
time period of a week is less dangerous than if the same
dose is received instantaneously (e.g. in a few hours).
 Long-term radiation effects (5-30 years after) from
exposure are still not known.
 The ultimate goal is to minimize radiation health effects
by maximizing orbit parameters and shielding.
Feasibility to use
and Integrate
Existing Systems
Four parameters describing the scenario:

telecommunications (signal travel time,
3.1 up to 22.2 min.)

Target’s position (e.g. Mars) with respect to Sun and Earth

Estimation of solar energetic particle event hazards

Mars-Earth phasing (56 – 400 million km).
(Glasstone, 1968)
Requirements for the detection of back-sided CMEs
(tentative particle events) when Mars is on the farside
of the Sun:
Courtesy of SWAN/SOHO.
Space-based coronograph observations from ISS type observatories,
LEO, L1 or STEREO-like orbits (during some phases of the solar cycle
back-sided CME source regions may be located via helioseimological
techniques).
Feasibility to use
and Integrate
Existing Systems
While envisioned manned modules
for future space missions to Mars
are generally equipped with shielded
astronaut shelters, adequate warning
is necessary for these to be useful.
SPE
GO TO SHELTER
 Effective forecasting capabilities are important for shortterm objectives such as being able to predict a solar
energetic particle event before an astronaut exits the
protection of a spacecraft.
SPE
HELP !
 On the other hand space weather monitoring is essential for
the understanding of the long-term variations observed in the
space environment – the “space climate”. This type of
information is extremely important in the designing of
spacecraft - assurance of operational safety.
Target Space
Weather Conditions
 Once our target has been reached, it is important to know the
local near-target space weather environment. Planets without
a substantial internal magnetic field such as Mars are for
example not shielding energetic particles such as Earth does.
 For any colony on Mars the mitigation of such particles will be
vital for the health of people staying for extended periods of
time.
 Like on Earth, enhanced ionization due to solar radiation (UV
and X-ray) in a target’s atmosphere may cause communications
problems.
Final Words
 There are differences between near-Earth space weather and
the local space weather on targets elsewhere in our solar
system. However, space weather knowledge is fundamental
for helio-space weather conditions.
 Different scientific communities need to interact with each
other.
 It is important that more interaction between the traditional
planet and solar-terrestrial physics communities occurs in the
future. This is possible not only by collaborating on projects
but also by participating in each others meetings.
Acknowledgements
Louis J. Lanzerotti
Editor AGU Space Weather Journal
•
Mikhail Panasyuk
Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University,
Moscow, Russia
•
Rainer Facius
DLR, German Aerospace Center, Inst. of Aerospace Medicine, Division
Radiation Biology, Cologne, Germany
•
Natalia Romanova
Institute of the Physics of the Earth, Moscow, Russia
•
Mark Wiedenbeck
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, California,
USA
•
Moussas Xenophon
University of Athens, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Athens, Greece
•
Jean-Mathias Greissmeier
Observatoire de Meudon, Meudon, France
The Perils of
Interplanetary Travel
Space hotels
might one day become
popular vacation spots.
SPACE HOTEL
21-11-2036
-------------------------CUSTOMER COPY
RECEIPT
Photo courtesy
Space Island Group