NASA's Mars rover feels wrath of massive solar storm

Washington, Jan 31 (ANI): It was not only Earth, which was impacted by radiations from the recent solar storm, but also NASA's Mars-Bound rover 'Curiosity', researchers say.

Presently en route to the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) detected the sun's temper tantrum radiation carried by the coronal mass ejection (CME) that was launched on Jan. 22 washed over the robot, the Discovery News reported.

One of the Curiosity's 11 instruments was switched on to gauge the radiation environment of interplanetary space.

The Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD, is a coffee can-sized detector that will gather radiation data on the Martian surface after Curiosity lands on Aug. 6.

NASA will them make use of this information to better understand ways of protecting future Mars astronauts from this potentially deadly hazard.

But during the journey to Mars, spacecrafts are submerged in high-energy particles continually streaming from the sun. And during times of heightened solar activity, solar flares and CMEs can intensify the radiation dose, thus boosting the risk of damage to sensitive electronics and biology.

The RAD's work has already started.

"We only have a few hours of data downloaded from the RAD so far, but we clearly see the event," said RAD principal investigator Don Hassler of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

"This (solar particle event) encounter is particularly exciting in light of the alignment between the Earth, MSL and Mars right now and for the next few months. It will be very interesting to compare the RAD data, collected from inside the capsule, with the data from other spacecraft."

Understanding the nature of CMEs as they travel through space can improve space weather models and help the scientists foresee the impact of future CMEs on Earth and assets in deep space.

"RAD was designed to characterize radiation levels on the surface of Mars, but an important secondary objective is measuring the radiation during the almost nine-month journey through interplanetary space to prepare for future human exploration," Hassler said.

"Not only will this give us insight into the physics of these giant clouds, but like an astronaut, RAD is tucked inside the MSL 'spacecraft. Measurements from RAD will give us insight about the shielding provided by spacecraft for future manned missions in deep space," Hassler added. (ANI)