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NASA Prepares for Solar Storm Threat During Artemis 2 Moon Mission
COLORADO SPRINGS — An upcoming simulated drill will assist NASA in formulating responses to potential solar storm events during next year’s Artemis 2 lunar mission. This crucial preparedness exercise will ensure astronaut safety on humanity’s return to deep space.
Space Weather Exercise to Safeguard Artemis 2 Crew
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is set to conduct a comprehensive exercise in late April and early May. The purpose of this simulation is to assess and refine procedures for reacting to space weather phenomena during the Artemis 2 mission. The exercise will focus on delivering timely alerts and warnings to the four astronauts on board.
Artemis 2: Venturing Beyond Earth’s Protective Shield
Artemis 2, with a targeted launch date no later than April 2026, marks a significant milestone as the first crewed mission to venture beyond Earth’s orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. This groundbreaking mission will take humans outside the natural safeguarding effect of Earth’s magnetosphere, which acts as a barrier against the most severe impacts of solar activity.
Enhancing Preparedness for Deep Space Human Missions
“The core objectives of this exercise involve strengthening our readiness for crewed space exploration, with a specific emphasis on the Artemis 2 undertaking,” stated Hazel Bain, a research scientist affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. She spoke as part of a session at the Space Weather Workshop on March 19, highlighting the critical nature of space weather preparedness.
Evaluating New Space Weather Tools and Inter-Agency Collaboration
Beyond procedural readiness, the exercise will serve to evaluate the effectiveness of advanced space weather forecasting tools and applications in supporting the mission. Furthermore, a key aspect will be to identify opportunities to enhance collaboration among various participating entities. These include NASA, SWPC, the Department of Defense, academic institutions, and commercial partners. “Our aim is to convene these diverse groups to foster a clear understanding of individual roles and shared responsibilities,” Bain explained, emphasizing the collaborative nature of space weather mitigation.
Simulated Solar Storm Scenario at SWPC Testbed
The exercise will employ historical space weather data derived from a previous solar storm, although the specific event will remain undisclosed to participants in advance. This realistic simulation will be carried out at SWPC’s Boulder, Colorado, headquarters, utilizing a newly established testbed facility specifically designed for drills of this nature.
NASA’s Proactive Approach to Lunar Radiation Risks
NASA has been proactively developing strategies to manage the risks associated with solar storms for the Artemis program. This necessitates a shift in operational protocols and perspectives. Steve Johnson, representing NASA’s Space Radiation and Analysis Group (SRAG), noted at the workshop, “Conditions will be fundamentally different when we journey to the moon, as we will spend the majority of our time outside the Earth’s magnetic field. This means solar radiation is a persistent hazard—a significant departure from our experiences in low Earth orbit operations like the space station.”
Radiation Monitoring and Crew Shelter Procedures
Artemis 2 will incorporate multiple instruments dedicated to monitoring radiation levels. Moreover, each astronaut will be equipped with a personal dosimeter, a device designed to quantify individual exposure to external ionizing radiation.
Orion Spacecraft Storm Shelter: A Temporary Safe Haven
Johnson further mentioned that SRAG has conducted extensive analyses of the Orion spacecraft’s structural resilience against several impactful solar proton events. These analyses aimed to pinpoint the threshold at which crew members would need to seek refuge in a designated storm shelter within the Orion capsule.
Rob Chambers of Lockheed Martin, the primary contractor for Orion, described the storm shelter concept: it involves utilizing storage containers and waste disposal bags onboard the spacecraft to construct “a makeshift protective enclosure.” During solar events, the four astronauts would gather inside this confined space, maintaining close physical proximity until the storm subsides. “This is clearly not an ideal scenario for space exploration,” Chambers acknowledged, “but it represents the sole contingency option on an Artemis mission, given the lack of immediate Earth return capability.”
Future Missions and Advanced Radiation Protection
However, subsequent Artemis missions may incorporate enhanced protective measures. The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission served as a testbed for AstroRad, a specialized vest engineered to shield the torso from solar protons. During this mission, one mannequin, equipped with radiation sensors, wore the vest, while a control mannequin did not. “The vest’s performance exceeded initial expectations in its first trial,” Chambers reported, demonstrating a reduction in effective radiation dose ranging from 40% to 61%.
The AstroRad vest has the potential to allow astronauts to leave the storm shelter during a solar event to perform essential spacecraft maintenance or operational tasks while still benefiting from a degree of radiation mitigation. “Simply wearing this vest would provide tangible benefits,” Chambers concluded. “We can aspire to more sophisticated responses than simply huddling within a makeshift shelter when these events occur in deep space.”