SPACE/COSMOS
Should We Be Worried About Solar Storms?
Solar storms can disrupt power grids, cause radio blackouts, and endanger nuclear facilities, with past events like the Carrington Event serving as stark reminders.
Despite growing technological advancements, predicting solar storms remains highly unreliable, leaving critical infrastructure vulnerable.
Artificial intelligence is emerging as a potential tool for better forecasting, but current preparations for major geomagnetic storms remain insufficient.
Solar radiation storms happen when a large-scale magnetic eruption from the sun accelerates charged particles in the solar atmosphere to very high velocities. This can cause protons to get accelerated to large fractions of the speed of light, meaning they can travel the 150 million km from the sun to the Earth in just tens of minutes. Once they reach the Earth, the rapidly moving protons break through the magnetosphere that shields Earth from lower-energy charged particles to land near the north and south poles.
A major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm, can cause radio blackouts, power outages, and beautiful auroras. However, they are not generally harmful to humans as the planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect people from the worst of these storms.
Some past solar storms include the 1989 Quebec storm, which knocked out the province’s power for nine hours; a 1972 storm, which triggered dozens of mines off the coast of Vietnam where the U.S. military was stationed; and the 1859 geomagnetic storm, known as the Carrington Event. Carrington caused the aurora borealis to shine so bright that it could be seen as far south as Colombia. It was caused by a wave of magnetized plasma, which was launched from the Sun and travelled at a speed of over 2,000 km per hour before hitting Earth, prompting the Earth’s magnetic field to release terawatts of power in response.
The risk of a major solar storm now is much higher than over a decade ago as the Sun is reaching its peak activity cycle, increasing the likelihood of a geomagnetic storm. The main difficulty in mitigating the risk of a solar storm is the lack of ability to predict when it might happen. Predictions for the solar cycle vary significantly, with some scientists putting the odds of a roughly Carrington-level storm at about 1 percent, while others have gone as high as around 25 percent.
Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission, explained, “Honestly, we don’t know” how likely it is to be hit by a similarly severe storm. Rawafi believes that it does not really matter, as while humans will be fine most of the time, it will only take one incident to change everything, and it is only a matter of time. “There is no way around it… We are living with the Sun,” stressed Rawafi.
In October 2024, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a solar storm warning after an outburst from the sun was detected for an event that could have affected power grids. NOAA notified power plant operators and orbiting spacecraft to prepare for the storm, as well as alerted the Federal Emergency Management Agency – the organisation that manages post-disaster response - about potential power disruptions. While the geomagnetic storm resulted in a widely visible aurora borealis, it had little additional impact. However, the NOAA warning suggests just how difficult it is for scientists to predict the potential impact of a storm.
One of the biggest worries is the lack of preparedness for a solar storm in the modern age. When a geomagnetic storm hit New York in 1921, it knocked out the city's lights. However, if a strong storm occurs in the present day, it could have a more detrimental effect due to the widespread reliance on technology. Power-grid infrastructure is extremely vulnerable to the impact of solar storms, for example, and long-term blackouts could cause safety issues at nuclear facilities.
If nuclear plants lost their off-site electricity for months at a time, it could prevent them from operating safely. While emergency diesel generators could power cooling pumps for several days, any longer blackouts could spell trouble. No nuclear plant in the U.S. has ever lost off-site electricity for more than a week. In 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission warned that a severe solar storm could collapse the country’s power grids and may even lead to reactor core damage at multiple nuclear plants. The unknown risk of geomagnetic storms suggests that nuclear plants and other at-risk facilities must do more to mitigate the potential risk of a solar event.
The main cause for concern with solar storms is the lack of understanding and predictability about these types of events. The world is largely unprepared for geomagnetic storms to hit Earth and potentially trigger widespread, long-term blackouts. However, researchers are growing increasingly optimistic that artificial intelligence might help them to better understand and plan for these types of scenarios, helping to mitigate the risk of solar storms.
A recent journal article showed that one forecasting tool was able to predict the orientation of the magnetic field by assessing data from the four hours of a storm. The combination of the human sighting of a solar event and the use of machines to analyse data could provide greater insight into the potential impact of a storm. However, we are still largely in the dark when it comes to solar storms, and both governments and energy companies must be prepared for such an eventuality to occur at any moment.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
Tough microbes found in NASA cleanrooms hold clues to space survival and biotech
Discovery of 26 novel bacterial species in NASA spacecraft assembly facilities indicate the potential for microbial persistence in extraterrestrial environments
King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST)
image:
Alexandre Rosado and Junia Schultz.
view moreCredit: Jayson Ricamara (KAUST).
A new study by scientists at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and several institutes across India and Saudi Arabia has reported 26 novel bacterial species growing inside cleanrooms associated with NASA space missions. These unknown and newly described species carry genetic traits associated with resilience to extreme environments such as those found in space, highlighting the importance of rigorous contamination control to prevent unintentional microbial transfer during space missions. The study can be read in Microbiome.
Spacecraft are assembled in cleanrooms, which are highly specialized facilities engineered to maintain exceptionally low levels of dust and microorganisms. These controlled environments are extreme in their own right, with tightly regulated airflow, temperature, and humidity that inhibit microbial survival. However, some microorganisms – extremophiles – thrive in such environments.
"Our study aimed to understand the risk of extremophiles being transferred in space missions and to identify which microorganisms might survive the harsh conditions of space. This effort is pivotal for monitoring the risk of microbial contamination and safeguarding against unintentional colonization of exploring planets," explained King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Professor Alexandre Rosado, the lead KAUST researcher on the project and a contributor to several NASA working groups on planetary protection and space microbiology.
The scientists did a comprehensive analysis of the microorganisms growing in the NASA cleanrooms, finding that many of the new species possessed genes that made them resilient to decontamination and radiation. Some of the discovered genes were associated with DNA repair, the detoxification of harmful molecules, and improved metabolism, all of which increased the species' survivability.
Moreover, these genes could lead to new biotechnologies that benefit food preservation and medicine.
"These findings not only raise important consideration for planetary protection but also open the door for biotechnological innovation,” said Junia Schultz, a postdoctoral fellow at KAUST who was the first author of the study. “Space travel provides an opportunity to study microorganisms that possess relevant stress-resistance genes. The genes identified in these newly discovered bacterial species could be engineered for applications in medicine, food preservation, and other industries."
In addition, the study assists NASA with anticipating the type of bacteria astronauts will encounter in their space missions and in developing strategies to mitigate microbial contamination in cleanrooms.
“KAUST’s collaboration with NASA represents a groundbreaking alliance driving the frontiers of space science and astrobiology,” said Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran, retired Senior Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a lead author of the study. “Together, we are unraveling the mysteries of microbes that withstand the extreme conditions of space —organisms with the potential to revolutionize the life sciences, bioengineering, and interplanetary exploration. This partnership not only supports Saudi Arabia’s ambitious vision through the Saudi Space Agency but also reinforces KAUST’s emergence as a global leader in microbial and space biology research.”
Journal
Microbiome
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Genomic insights into!novel extremotolerant bacteria isolated from!the!NASA phoenix mission spacecraft assembly cleanrooms
Article Publication Date
12-May-2025
Glass beads offer a window into the Moon’s hidden depths
An international study offers new insights into the Moon’s history and provides a better understanding of what lies beneath its cratered surface.
Curtin University
An international study featuring scientists from Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Space Science and Technology Centre offers new insights into the Moon’s history and provide a better understanding of what lies beneath its cratered surface.
Researchers from Curtin University, Nanjing University and The Australian National University analysed tiny, green glass beads collected by Chang’e-5 — the Chinese National Space Administration mission to the Moon.
Typically, lunar glass beads are formed from impacts that melt surface rocks.
However, the beads in this study were found to have unusually high levels of magnesium, which Professor Alexander Nemchin from the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences said was evidence of a potentially deeper origin.
“These high-magnesium glass beads may have formed when an asteroid smashed into rocks that originated from the mantle deep within the Moon,” Professor Nemchin said.
“This is exciting, because we’ve never sampled the mantle directly before: the tiny glass beads offer us a glimpse of the Moon’s hidden interior.”
Co-author Professor Tim Johnson, also from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the chemistry of the beads was unlike that of lunar surface rocks sampled previously.
Professor Johnson said the rocks may have been brought up from the Moon’s mantle by a massive impact.
“One such event could be the formation of the Imbrium Basin, which is a huge crater formed more than 3 billion years ago,” Professor Johnson said.
“Remote sensing has shown the area around the basin's edge contains the kind of minerals that match the glass bead chemistry.
“This is a big step forward in understanding how the Moon evolved internally; if these samples really are pieces of the mantle, it tells us that impacts can excavate otherwise inaccessible mantle material to the surface”
Study lead Professor Xiaolei Wang from Nanjing University said the discovery could have wider implications and influence future missions to the Moon and other planets.
“Understanding how the Moon’s interior is made helps us compare it to Earth and other planets,” Professor Wang said.
“It could even guide future missions, whether robotic or human, that aim to explore the Moon’s deep geology.”
‘A potential mantle origin for precursor rocks of high-Mg impact glass beads in Chang’e-5 soil’ was published in Science Advances.
Journal
Science Advances
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
A potential mantle origin for precursor rocks of high-Mg impact glass beads in Chang’e-5 soil
Article Publication Date
9-May-2025
