NASA plans to create a magnetic shield for astronauts
NASA has allocated funds to develop a prototype magnetic protection against cosmic radiation.
Landing people on Mars is one of the most important astronautical missions of the 21st century. However, outside of Earth and in low Earth orbit, a person will be exposed to dangerous cosmic radiation, including charged particles.
The use of a thick layer of material for protection will lead to an increase in the mass of the ship or a decrease in the tonnage.
In this regard, scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison proposed the concept of CREW HaT, according to which it is supposed to create a shield based on superconducting magnets.
A description of the device was posted on the NASA website.
Recently, the idea’s authors received government funding under the Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
“We came up with an idea to protect ships from cosmic rays,” says Elena D’Ongia. “We are using a new technology for superconducting tapes and creating a new magnetic field.”
D’Ongia and colleagues have developed a lightweight, deployable magnetic coil design. They will be placed around the ship’s living quarters, as a result of which the magnetic field will deflect charged particles: protons and ions. In this case, the configuration of the sphere would be such that it is not located inside the ship and affects the equipment and astronauts.
As a result, the installation will have to reject up to 50 percent of dangerous radiation, which, along with other measures, will reduce the level of radiation during the flight to an acceptable level.
In particular, these magnets can be installed on the Lunar Gateway station that is orbiting the moon under development, the first units of which are scheduled to be launched in 2024.
