Researchers will look at the strong explosions on the Sun
Source: Creotech Instruments S.A.
Strong explosions on the Sun, called solar storms, can have disastrous consequences for the Earth\'s electronics and telecommunications. International team of scientists will look at them as part of the mission PROBA-3. Fragments of electronic circuits on satellite platforms of the mission will be designed and installed by a Polish company - Creotech Instruments.
The purpose of the PROBA-3 mission is to deepen the knowledge of the outer layers of the solar atmosphere (corona). PROBA-3 will consist of two interacting satellite platforms. The first will be equipped with a camera and telescope to observe the solar corona. The second one will have the task to manoeuvre around the first platform and obscure the disc of the Sun at the time of capturing the image of the corona.
"This operation can be compared to a solar eclipse, where the first vehicle is an observer capturing images and performing measurements, and the other, like the Moon, obscures the disc of the sun. Thanks to this operation, devices and sensors mounted on the first ship will be able to thoroughly examine the solar atmosphere, called the solar corona" - explained Jacek Kosiec, director of the space program at Creotech Instruments.
The mission is expected to begin in 2018. The two components will be carried to high Earth orbit. The first devices equipped with a camera and telescope will weigh about 340 kg, and the second no more than 200 kg.
"Scientists believe that the study of the solar corona will provide knowledge on the interaction for Sun\'s magnetic field with particles of the solar wind. This will allow to better understand phenomena such as solar storms, the effects of which can be potentially disastrous for our civilization, dependent on electronics and telecommunications" - Kosiec said.
According to the release sent by Creotech Instruments, strong solar storms, which are in fact powerful explosions on the surface of our star, are associated with ejection of huge amounts of energy and matter into space. Part of charged particles ejected into space reaches our planet and causes so-called magnetic storms that can damage communications satellites, disrupt radio transmissions in the Earth\'s atmosphere, and even cause damage to the energy infrastructure. These phenomena have accompanied us for centuries, but with the development of technology, their destructive potential grows. Solar storms are a fairly common phenomenon, but their strength and effects on our planet depend on many factors.
"Scientists estimate that if the solar storm that occurred on the Sun\'s surface in 1859 and which led to the damage of telegraph networks in Europe and North America, took place today, it would lead to catastrophic damage to telecommunications, satellite and energy infrastructure on a global scale and cause unprecedented material losses" - said Jacek Kosiec. "This threat is so real that the issue is not whether such an event can occur, but when will it happen" - he concluded.
In the PROBA3 project, Creotech Instruments is a subcontractor of the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences. "The work commissioned by ESA from the Polish company will be carried out in the years 2016-2017, and the value of the signed contract amounts to PLN 3 million (more than 700 thousand euros)" - reported Creotech Instruments in the release.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
ekr/ agt/ zan/
tr. RL
Przed dodaniem komentarza prosimy o zapoznanie z Regulaminem forum serwisu Nauka w Polsce.
