THE Van Allen radiation belt is the fate of the four astronauts who took off on SpaceX’s latest mission launched on Tuesday (10). The structures that surround the Earth pose a danger to satellites and sensors and have high levels of radiation, exceeding the intensity of the x-rays used in examinations.
These donut-shaped structures surround the magnetosphere, a region of our planet’s atmosphere that traps high-energy radiation particles and protects us from storms and solar winds that can damage technology and people living on Earth’s surface. The fragments captured by the magnetosphere form Van Allen radiation belt .
Astronauts on the SpaceX mission will make a risky foray into the Van Allen radiation belts — aiming to reach an altitude of 1,405 kilometers, surpassing the milestone set by NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966, which reached 1,373 kilometers.
The inner part of the radiation donuts is located at an altitude of about 1,000 to 6,000 kilometers.
Scientists will not feel that they are inside the belt, because the particles in it are so diluted that astronauts cannot see or feel them when they are outside the spacecraft in their spacesuits.
Only the capsule’s sensitive devices will be able to measure radiation, such as solar cells, integrated circuits and sensors — which could be damaged.
The Van Allen radiation belt was discovered in 1958 by astrophysicist James Van Allen, who designed the instruments aboard Explorer 1, the first spacecraft launched by the United States.
The spacecraft captured data through the Geiger (a radiation meter) on board the spacecraft and with this, space physics was created and an era of technology and communications was inaugurated.
In 1968, NASA’s Apollo Mission 8 was the first manned spacecraft to fly beyond the Van Allen belts to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
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This content was originally published in What is the Van Allen radiation belt, SpaceX mission destination on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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