New Model Maps the Electrical Environment of Asteroids for Space Exploration Mission

While space may seem empty, it's not. Instead, it flows with electric activity that may be able to impact space missions. Now, NASA wants to learn a bit more about the electrical environment of space as they begin plans to send humans to a nearby asteroid.

Solar wind blows from the surface of our sun at about a million miles per hour. This "wind" flows around all solar system objects, and forms swirling eddies and vortices. The magnetic fields carried by this wind can slam into the magnetic fields around other objects and can send electric currents surging in magnetic storms that can damage sensitive technology.

That's why scientists decided to learn a bit more about these magnetic fields. The researchers developed a new computer model that can predict and visualize the interaction between the solar wind, solar radiation, and the surface of asteroids.

Previous grid-type models were actually far less efficient at calculating the effects of solar activity on complex surfaces like asteroids. This is mostly because they devote computer resources equally to all areas. Yet this new model continually adapts to flowing plasma and applies the most resources to areas with lots of complex activity.

"Our model is the first to provide detailed, two-dimensional views of the complex interaction between solar activity and small objects like asteroids, using an adaptive computation technique that makes these simulations highly efficient," said Michael Zimmerman, the project leader, in a news release.

In fact, the new model can calculate a solar activity-asteroid interaction in just a few days. In contrast, it would take a grid-type model a few weeks to do the same. This could be a huge boon for future space exploration.

"For example, understanding the electrical environment around an asteroid could help identify locations where astronauts can safely make first contact with the object," said William Farrell, a co-author of the study. "If an astronaut is tethered to a spacecraft that is in sunlight and positively charged, and touches a negatively charged asteroid surface in shadow, there could be an unexpected current flow between the two systems upon contact. We simply can't speculate on the nature of that current without this model."

The findings give researchers a new tool when it comes to understanding this field. By using the model, the scientists can prepare for future missions on asteroids and elsewhere in our galaxy.

The findings are published in the journal Icarus.