Posted on 01/29/2008 7:52:57 PM PST by BGHater
· Scientists simulate solar wind in Oxfordshire lab · Magnets give protection against cancer risk
"Shields up!" barks Captain James T Kirk as the Starship Enterprise braces itself for another blast from the Klingon cruiser, referring to that essential accessory without which the crew could never have ventured beyond the final frontier.
And while real astronauts are not thought to face quite the same risk from alien species, engineers are developing a similar shield to protect them from the solar wind, a stream of high-energy charged particles from the sun travelling faster than the speed of sound.
They say protecting crew members on long-term missions to Mars or the moon will be essential because the stream of particles causes mutations to DNA which can lead to cancer.
UK researchers have created a scaled-down version of the solar wind in a lab in Oxfordshire to study how to use magnetic shielding to protect astronauts. "We now have actual measurements that show a 'hole' in the solar wind could be created in which a spacecraft could sit, affording some protection from 'ion storms', as they would call them on Star Trek," said Dr Ruth Bamford, a physicist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Chilton.
The question of how to fend off the solar wind has been given some urgency by an international plan - the Global Exploration Strategy, signed by 14 space agencies including those of Britain, China, France and the US - to return to the moon and send astronauts further into space. George Bush has committed the US to a return trip to the moon by 2020 and the ultimate aim is to send people on the eight-month voyage to the red planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Do they teach reporters absolutely nothing about the fields they cover?
If a tree falls in space and no one is around, does it make a sound? ;)
Funny how solutions arise to problems that naysayers would use to argue against such journeys.
So, how did the moon walkers survive this long? Did they have “sun shields” back then? Nope. Didn’t need them in Arizona.
The picture got blocked.
But I did download it and see good ol Mr. Scott!
“The best diplomat that I know is a fully-loaded phaser bank.” -Scotty
It is weird. The photos appear on my screen. Not the first time that has happened.
I try to test picture links a bit now.
I refresh the preview and see if the picture appears again.
Regardless of the photo posting issues, this story is encouraging. This is what I like about humanity - when given the freedom address a challenge, we develop solutions.
It is also fortuitous that they just figured out a prophylaxis against radiation poisoning:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5490322.html
Even if it will have to be studied for many years to make sure that it’s safe.
LOL, I think the statement answers the question. !
May need to put you in the same category as the writer.
I tell ya, I seen just about every Star Trek episode, but I'll be dipped if I ever seen em go to Boldly Go....
I’m honored to be so feted.
Better feted than fetid....
“Do they teach reporters absolutely nothing about the fields they cover?”
LOL! Well, technically, they are correct.
Got that right. That’s the reason I be feted.
Rocket roll all night, party every day.
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