The Surrey team is developing prototypes for a new High Energy Proton Telescope (HEPTEL), which aims to measure the radiation caused by solar flares in space before it reaches the Earth’s atmosphere.
According to the scientists, HEPTEL will monitor extremely high energy protons, the dominant particle type from solar events which can stop electronic devices from working properly once they penetrate the atmosphere. Systems on aircraft are said to be more at risk due to their altitude.
In a statement, Professor Keith Ryden, director of Surrey Space Centre and the project lead, said: “Extremely high energy solar proton events occur on average once a year but do vary a lot in intensity; the most severe could have a significant impact on avionics, potentially leading to increased pilot workload.
“Given the ever-increasing quantity of electronics on-board, future aircraft will need to be designed to cope with intense events, so we need research like this to enable better modelling and higher levels of understanding.”
Current measurements of the space radiation environment focus on much lower energy protons. At present the highest energy protons are primarily detected at ground level, so by conducting measurements in space the Surrey team expect to obtain ‘more accurate’ data.
Professor Ryden, head of a space weather radiation environment research group, said the new technology is like “understanding weather by examining the clouds, not just observing the rain.”
The scientists said that as well as measuring the impact on aircraft electronics, a thorough understanding of space weather and radiation risk is crucial for interplanetary travel and the development of settlements on the Moon and Mars.
The project has been funded by the second round of the UK Space Agency’s Enabling Technologies Programme, announced today (November 21, 2023).
Surrey Space Centre is exhibiting at the European Space Weather Conference (November 20-24) and at the UK Space Conference (November 21-23).
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