The specks in this prospect were make by charged particles from a solar storm hit a camera aboard NASA ’s Curiosity Mars wanderer . peculiarity uses its seafaring tv camera to try and capture images of dust devils and wind blast , like the one see here . NASA / JPL - Caltech
The recent solar storms caused epic events here on Earth , whereauroras were visibleacross much of the globe last calendar month . These storms , induce by heightened action from the sun , do n’t only pretend our planet though — they also dissemble Mars . NASA missions like the Curiosity rover have been note the effects of solar storm there , where the very flimsy atmosphere creates a potentially dangerous radiation environment . If we ever want to send people to visit the red planet , we ’re going to need to learn more about this radiation sickness and how it ’s affect by events like solar storms .
The effects of the solar storm can be seen clearly in the agency that they touch on Curiosity ’s camera . The charged particles from the solar storms collide with the camera and produce touch across the effigy , which can be view most clearly in living . Two animations from Curiosity ’s Navigation Camera ( MSL ) official document show the charge particle , which look like snow or atmospheric static over the view of Mars — check them out on NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Collaborator websitehereandhere .
The specks in this scene were caused by charged particles from a solar storm hitting a camera aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Curiosity uses its navigation cameras to try and capture images of dust devils and wind gusts, like the one seen here.NASA/JPL-Caltech
As coolheaded as these storm look when catch through electronic eye , if astronauts had been on the planet ’s surface when such a solar storm hit , they would have been bombarded with a irradiation dosage of 8,100 micrograys , which NASA say is tantamount to 30 chest X - rays . That is n’t enough to kill someone , but it is a big radiation ear that has research worker consider how to protect succeeding spaceman .
One option is to employ the Mars landscape for protection , such as steer below earth . “ Cliffsides or lava tubes would provide extra shielding for an astronaut from such an event . In Mars orbit or deep space , the STD rate would be significantly more , ” say the Southwest Research Institute ’s Don Hassler , the lead researcher on Curiosity ’s Radiation Assessment Detector musical instrument . “ I would n’t be surprised if this participating part on the sun continues to erupt , mean even more solar storms at both Earth and Mars over the total weeks . ”
NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet also saw the effects of the solar storms on the martian surface . Some even cause instruments to pretermit out , like one of the Mars Odyssey ’s cameras , which was accept out for around an time of day . The Maven ( Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN ) orbiter was also able to see auroras over Mars , which happen through a dissimilar mechanism than here on Earth as Mars has no global charismatic airfield .
“ This was the big solar gumptious particle event that MAVEN has ever view , ” said MAVEN Space Weather Lead Christina Lee of the University of California , Berkeley ’s Space Sciences Laboratory . “ There have been several solar consequence in past week , so we were seeing wafture after wave of particles hit Mars . ”
