NASA .. an extraordinary mission to spare the world the "day of the end of the Internet"
Space experts say that solar storms that could occur within the next decade may threaten our Internet communications networks for months or even years, rendering satellites and power lines useless!
And the US space agency (NASA) is carrying out a mission in space aimed at sparing the world what has become known as the "day of the end of the Internet", when access to the Internet on Earth could stop, which would affect the services associated with it.
In order to avoid this scenario, NASA launched in 2018 a spacecraft called Parker Solar Probe, which succeeded in approaching the surface of the sun, where the solar wind emanating from the upper atmosphere of the sun is generated, according to the electronic news newspaper "Business Standard".
And the US space agency monitors solar activity through 12 observatories and spacecraft to collect and benefit from information. In 1859, the fiercest solar storm was recorded. And if it is repeated, it will disable many technological systems within a few minutes.
The spacecraft enabled NASA scientists to gather vital information about the Sun's functioning, despite the extreme conditions of high temperatures in the atmosphere.
"The wind carries a lot of information from the Sun to Earth," said Professor Stewart Bell of the University of California - one of the main contributors to a study on the importance of understanding the solar wind, adding that "understanding the mechanism behind the solar wind is important for practical reasons on Earth."
According to the American professor, knowing the details of this mechanism "will help to understand how the sun releases energy and drives geomagnetic storms that pose a threat to Internet communications networks," adding the "Business Standard" news paper.
The insights gained will also help, according to NASA experts, to predict future solar storms, which will help move early to protect satellites and power grids. Wireless communication systems based on the ionosphere are among the systems most vulnerable to solar storms.
Source : websites