Sun Threatens Delivery Man to Mars

United States plans to send astronauts to space exploration is expected to leave Earth orbit in 2025 and reached Mars in 2035, threatened. Because the solar radiation can delay departure to Mars for decades to come.

As is known, the Sun emits deadly cosmic radiation. As long as people remain in the Earth’s atmosphere, the threat of radiation was practically nil. However, if people go outside the atmosphere, they are in danger of cancer or other diseases due to radiation.

Solar radiation levels themselves vary depending on solar activity that consists of several cycles that have been regulated. According to a recent study John Norbury, astronomers from NASA, this cycle is to be the source of the problem.

“The sun has a cycle called the Schwabe cycle, where the sunspot activity reaches its peak, also called solar maximum which occurs every 11 years,” Norbury said, as quoted from io9, 24 November 2010. “When that happens, there are eruptions of fire and corona mass ejection. Both spread deadly radiation to the entire solar system, “he said.

The phenomenon of the last solar maximum occurred in 2002. That is, the phenomenon will be repeated in 2013, 2024, and 2035. “Solar Maximum in 2024 and 2035 is dangerous if the United States still plans to send humans into orbit in 2025, and arrived at Mars in 2035,” Norbury said.

If only that’s the case, said Norbury, simply shifts the time of the launch human missions to Mars to avoid the solar maximum. Unfortunately, there are other problems that are much larger, ie Sun Gleissberg cycle.

Gleissberg cycle is a longer cycle that peaks occur every 80 to 90 years. That is, a blast that leveled the Sun are significantly more deadly. When this phenomenon occurs, any travel outside Earth’s orbit is very dangerous, and arguably not possible. Then, when the peak cycle will re-occur Gleissberg?

No one can be sure. The reason, to know when the last cycle emerged, researchers need to examine the data records of sunspots over the last few centuries, and these data do not exist because visual pictures of the new Sun is available for some time.

There are other ways to estimate the use of carbon-14 or radiocarbon. Using this method, scientists are pretty sure that the solar maximum Gleissberg cycles have appeared in 1790, 1870, and 1950. That is, the top of the next cycle will emerge in 2030 with the danger period lasted for 20 years from 2020 until 2040.

In fact, in the range of time, the United States, China and other countries planning to send astronauts to the moon and to Mars. If the radiation level is very high on and off, the mission to Mars could be condemned to failure.

“The worst scenario is, if humans are exposed to radiation up to a certain level, they will experience severe pain in a matter of days and will have diarrhea and vomiting to death inside the space capsule that they ride,” said Lewis Dartnell, an astrobiologist at the University College of London.

Shipping astronauts to Mars is possible if the technology of radiation shield on the shuttle successfully upgraded. But to find it required a big investment. In addition, preventive measures should also find the emergence of side effects.

Another way that is easier to send humans to Mars at the end of this decade.