"Space environment is a branch of astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics that seeks to understand and address conditions existing in space that affect the design and operation of spacecraft."
The study of the environment in space, including radiation, particles, and other factors that affect spacecraft and human life.
Solar System: The system of planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies that orbit around the sun.
Gravity: The force that attracts two objects with mass towards each other.
Orbits: The path taken by a body as it revolves around another object in space.
Spacecraft: Vehicles designed for travel or exploration in space.
Rocket propulsion: The action of a rocket engine, which expels gas at high speed in one direction, providing a reactive force in the opposite direction.
Remote sensing: The acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with it.
Artificial satellites: Objects placed in orbit around Earth to provide a wide range of services, such as communications, weather forecasting, navigation, and scientific research.
Meteoroids: Small rocks or dust particles in space.
Meteor showers: An abundance of meteors, usually from the dust trail of a comet, entering Earth's atmosphere and producing visible streaks of light.
Asteroids: Large boulders or small planets in orbit around the sun.
Comets: Small, icy objects that develop a tail when they approach the sun.
Planetary exploration: The study of planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies to better understand their structure, composition, history, and potential for supporting life.
Space weather: The conditions and processes in space, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and cosmic radiation, that can affect Earth's technology and infrastructure.
Radiation: The emission and propagation of energy through space or materials in the form of waves, particles, or rays.
Interplanetary magnetic field: The magnetic field that fills the space between the planets and is generated by the sun.
Space debris: The fragments, junk, and other man-made objects in orbit around Earth that pose a hazard to spacecraft and satellites.
Space law: The legal framework governing human activities in space, including exploration, use of resources, and international cooperation.
Extravehicular activity: Activities performed by astronauts outside of their spacecraft or space station.
Human spaceflight: The use of spacecraft to carry humans into space for research, exploration, or commercial purposes.
Space tourism: The industry of providing opportunities for civilians to travel to space for recreational or experiential purposes.
Microgravity Environment: The absence of gravity or the feeling of weightlessness.
Radiation Environment: High-energy particles emitted by the sun and other celestial bodies can potentially harm spacecraft or astronauts.
Vacuum Environment: Space is a vacuum with low oxygen and pressure.
Thermal Environment: Temperatures in space range from extremely hot to extremely cold, making it necessary for spacecraft components and astronauts to be protected from extreme heat and cold.
Atmospheric Environment: The atmosphere in space can impact the motion and orbit of satellites, spacecraft, and debris.
Orbital Environment: The specific characteristics of the orbit in which a satellite operates, such as altitude, inclination, eccentricity, and period, can impact its performance and functionality.
Magnetic Environment: Earth's magnetic field impacts the behavior of charged particles in space and can also cause disturbances in spacecraft electronics.
Debris Environment: Space is full of man-made and natural debris that can harm spacecraft and satellites.
Interplanetary Environment: The overall environment outside of Earth's atmosphere but within the solar system, including the space between the planets.
Planetary Environment: The environment of other planets in the solar system, such as Mars or Venus, including their atmospheric conditions, temperature, and gravity.
"A related subject, space weather, deals with dynamic processes in the solar-terrestrial system that can give rise to effects on spacecraft, but that can also affect the atmosphere, ionosphere and geomagnetic field, giving rise to several other kinds of effects on human technologies."
"Radiation in space usually comes from three main sources: The Van Allen radiation belts, Solar proton events and solar energetic particles, and Galactic cosmic rays."
"For long-duration missions, the high doses of radiation can damage electronic components and solar cells."
"During solar energetic events (solar flares and coronal mass ejections) particles can be accelerated to very high energies and can reach the Earth in times as short as 30 minutes (but usually take some hours). These particles are mainly protons and heavier ions that can cause radiation damage, disruption to logic circuits, and even hazards to astronauts."
"In near-Earth orbits, the Earth's geomagnetic field screens spacecraft from a large part of these hazards - a process called geomagnetic shielding."
"Space debris and meteoroids can impact spacecraft at high speeds, causing mechanical or electrical damage."
"The average speed of space debris is 10 km/s (22,000 mph; 36,000 km/h) while the average speed of meteoroids is much greater."
"Mechanical damage from debris impacts have been studied through space missions including LDEF, which had over 20,000 documented impacts through its 5.7-year mission."
"Spacecraft electrostatic charging is caused by the hot plasma environment around the Earth."
"As a result, discharges can occur and are known to be the source of many spacecraft anomalies."
"Solutions devised by scientists and engineers include, but are not limited to, spacecraft shielding, special 'hardening' of electronic systems, various collision detection systems."
"Evaluation of effects during spacecraft design includes application of various models of the environment, including radiation belt models, spacecraft-plasma interaction models, and atmospheric models to predict drag effects encountered in lower orbits and during reentry."
"The field often overlaps with the disciplines of astrophysics, atmospheric science, space physics, and geophysics, albeit usually with an emphasis on application."
"The United States government maintains a Space Weather Prediction Center at Boulder, Colorado. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)."
"Space weather effects on Earth can include ionospheric storms, temporary decreases in ozone densities, disruption to radio communication, to GPS signals and submarine positioning."
"Disruption to radio communication...[is an effect of space weather]."
"Some scientists also theorize links between sunspot activity and ice ages."
"Crewed missions to return to the Moon or to travel to Mars will have to deal with the major problems presented by solar particle events to radiation safety, in addition to the important contribution to doses from the low-level background cosmic rays."
"The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SWPC is one of the National Weather Service's (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)."