NASA’s BioSentinel satellite is going where no satellite has gone before. During a recent, particularly large geomagnetic storm, which is the type of phenomenon that creates the Northern Lights, NASA dispatched the BioSentinel to study the effects of radiation in space. The unearthly Aurora Borealis displays are caused by coronal mass injections interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, and while tourists were absorbing the dazzling once-in-a-lifetime display from below, NASA scientists were collecting data about the inner workings of outer space.
NASA satellite studies radiation in deep space during geomagnetic storm
Earth’s magnetic field protects it from harmful radiation. But what happens without this protection? NASA needs to answer this question if it hopes to send more humans to the Moon and then to Mars. Sergio Santa Maria, principal investigator for BioSentinel’s spaceflight mission at NASA, explained the mission to study the geothermal storm:
“We wanted to take advantage of the unique stage of the solar cycle we’re in – the solar maximum, when the Sun is at its most active – so that we can continue to monitor the space radiation environment. These data are relevant not just to the heliophysics community but also to understand the radiation environment for future crewed missions into deep space.”
BioSentinel is currently 30 million miles from Earth
BioSentinel, a piece of technology so sophisticated it’s feeding us info about the sun from 30 million miles away, is only the size of a shoebox. The satellite endured the radiation from the coronal mass ejection without protection, which is a phenomenal feat in itself aside from the data gathering.
For context, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large displacements of magnetic field and plasma from the Sun’s corona. They can expel billions of tons of material and carry an embedded magnetic field frozen in flux that’s more intense than the background solar wind interplanetary magnetic field strength.
An initial look at the data that the BioSentinel amassed demonstrates that even though this was a massive geomagnetic storm, it was considered only moderate in terms of solar radiation, meaning it did not produce a great expulsion of hazardous particles. This means that terrestrial life forms wouldn’t have been significantly harmed if they had been exposed to the conditions without protection.
This information is useful for scientists attempting to map how solar radiation storms travel through space, and where their impact – and therefore potential for harm – is most extreme.
Activity and effects of solar storm phenomena
Geomagnetic storms are known to disrupt communications systems, as some radio frequencies can be absorbed while others are reflected. This causes fluctuations in the signal and unplanned propagation paths, and public and amateur radio are also affected. This was witnessed during May’s solar storm, which was powerful enough to cause auroras to appear in the skies above some parts of India.
A sunspot tagged AR3664, which previously set off a powerful flare that led to the most significant auras in 20 years, is still active. This same sunspot produced the May solar flare, which was classed as a X2.8 event, which is high on the scale of intensity. Nasa describes X-class solar flares as “giant explosions on the sun that send energy, light, and high-speed particles into space.”
The coronal mass ejection in May 2024
In an extremely rare event, the recent CME that NASA dispatched BioSentinel to monitor caused a red glow to appear over Ladakh in India, an area of the planet not known for auroras. The “stable auroral red arc” event was visible from the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in the Himalayas after magnetic storms were projected in the direction of Earth. Several high-energy flares were produced, traveling at a speed of 500 miles per second, according to the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences in India.
Considering that geomagnetic storms carry risks for Earth, space weather forecasting has become essential, and NASA is on top of this. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also monitors solar activity with the hope of being forewarned if a particularly intense solar flare is heading toward us. Early warning systems include shielding satellites, reinforcing power grids, and ensuring hardy communication systems to withstand solar events.
Auroras are a powerful reminder of the unseen forces that govern the cosmos. As researchers and scientists learn more about existing in space, projects like BioSentinel are vital to learn how to protect ourselves and Planet Earth.