![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-coronal-mass-ejection-captured-by-sdo-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>The Sun will be at peak activity this year, providing a rare opportunity to study how solar storms and radiation could affect future astronauts on the Red Planet.<\/em><\/p>\n In the months ahead, two of NASA\u2019s Mars spacecraft will have an unprecedented opportunity to study how solar flares \u2014 giant explosions on the Sun\u2019s surface \u2014 could affect robots and future astronauts on the Red Planet.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the Sun is entering a period of peak activity called solar maximum, something that occurs roughly every 11 years. During solar maximum, the Sun is especially prone to throwing fiery tantrums in a variety of forms \u2014 including solar flares<\/a> and coronal mass ejections<\/a> \u2014 that launch radiation deep into space. When a series of these solar events erupts, it\u2019s called a solar storm.<\/p>\n Earth\u2019s magnetic field largely shields our home planet from the effects of these storms. But Mars lost its global magnetic field long ago, leaving the Red Planet more vulnerable to the Sun\u2019s energetic particles. Just how intense does solar activity get on Mars? Researchers hope the current solar maximum will give them a chance to find out. Before sending humans there, space agencies need to determine, among many other details, what kind of radiation protection astronauts would require.<\/p>\n \u201cFor humans and assets on the Martian surface, we don\u2019t have a solid handle on what the effect is from radiation during solar activity,\u201d said Shannon Curry of the University of Colorado Boulder\u2019s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Curry is principal investigator for NASA\u2019s MAVEN<\/a> (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter, which is managed by NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cI\u2019d actually love to see the \u2018big one\u2019 at Mars this year \u2014 a large event that we can study to understand solar radiation better before astronauts go to Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n MAVEN observes radiation, solar particles, and more from high above Mars. The planet\u2019s thin atmosphere can affect the intensity of the particles by the time they reach the surface, which is where NASA\u2019s Curiosity<\/a> rover comes in. Data from Curiosity\u2019s Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD<\/a>, has helped scientists understand how radiation breaks down carbon-based molecules on the surface, a process that could affect whether signs of ancient microbial life are preserved there. The instrument has also provided NASA with an idea of how much shielding from radiation astronauts could expect by using caves, lava tubes, or cliff faces<\/a> for protection.<\/p>\n When a solar event occurs, scientists look both at the quantity of solar particles and how energetic they are.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can have a million particles with low energy or 10 particles with extremely high energy,\u201d said RAD\u2019s principal investigator, Don Hassler of the Boulder, Colorado, office of the Southwest Research Institute. \u201cWhile MAVEN\u2019s instruments are more sensitive to lower-energy ones, RAD is the only instrument capable of seeing the high-energy ones that make it through the atmosphere to the surface, where astronauts would be.\u201d<\/p>\nMeasuring High and Low<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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