York uni research 'could make spacecraft safer'
mercredi, 5 novembre 2008
A university in Yorkshire has looked into technology that could help astronauts in their journeys into space.
Scientists from the University of York have worked with members of the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the University of Strathclyde and IST Lisbon to produce research on how to protect astronauts from the harmful effects of space weather.
Previously, scientists had considered the solution of creating a magnetosphere for spacecraft to be impractical, but the research shows that it could work.
Dr Kieran Gibson, from the Yorkshire university’s department of physics, stated: "These are very encouraging preliminary results and there are now plans for more detailed testing which could ultimately lead to a viable spacecraft protection system."
The results of the research can be found in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.
Last year, the department of physics received a score of 91 per cent for overall satisfaction for its BSc and MPhys degree programmes in the National Student Survey of graduating students.
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