Posted on 04/17/2007 9:18:43 PM PDT by Nachum
For Captain Kirk and his crew, the starship Enterprise’s force fields were all that stood in the way of oblivion from Klingon lasers. Now scientists are seeking to build Star Trek-style shields for real, to protect astronauts on their way to Mars.
Though a manned mission to the Red Planet could probably expect to avoid any unpleasant alien encounters, researchers believe that magnetic fields could be crucial to shelter its crew from deadly radiation.
Cosmic rays and solar flares are one of the chief hazards faced by astronauts venturing into space, and the need to protect crews against them is one of the biggest obstacles to long missions.
On the surface of the Earth, the magnetic field that envelops our planet deflects most of this radiation, and even in the low orbits used by the space shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) it offers a measure of protection.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Oh no, not the Star Trek shields, those things were ALWAYS failing, never seemed to have enough power ... NASA must be able to do better than that!
“Ion engines Nasa’s Deep Space 1 comet chaser, and the European Space Agency’s Smart1 probe, have ion engines. Charged atoms are fired into space at about 1,000mph (1,600km/h), building up to propel the craft at up to 36,000mph”
And take many months to reach that velocity.
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