Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Earth’s Sun can toss out powerful solar storms that can impact infrastructure on Earth’s surface, in near-Earth orbit, including Artemis-era astronaut travel to and from the Moon and Mars.

Illustration of the EscaPADE spacecraft in orbit around Mars.
Credits: Rocket Lab USA/UC Berkeley

The weather on Mars is not a welcoming factor for future expeditions. Yes, it’s a harsh, chilly, foreboding planet. The place is no paradise.

Standing on Mars, astronauts will be more exposed to space radiation than stay-at-home Earthlings. Why so?

The Red planet lacks a protective magnetosphere and is cocooned in thin air that is roughly one-percent of the thickness of Earth’s atmosphere.

This ambiance of nastiness lets in high-energy radiation, such as protons, ions, neutrons and gamma rays. The Sun does its part by churning out intense bursts of radiation called solar energetic particles, or SEPs.

Artist’s concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars.
Image credit: NASA

Researchers at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado are working on strategies for round-trip Mars expeditions to deal with Sun-spitting solar storms.

Go to my new Space.com story – “How can we protect humans on Mars from radiation from solar storms?” – at:

https://www.space.com/mars-protect-astronauts-solar-storm-radiation