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If not for the earth's magnetic field our atmosphere would be bombarded by high energy plasma (ionized gas) from the sun and other space sources.

Much of these particles have more energy than the protons accelerated in the large hadron collider.

At very high altitudes and orbital altitudes this protection is less and when space travel takes astronauts out of range of earth's magnetic field there is no shielding or protection.

Does the International Space Station or other craft have an artificial magnetic field to protect its astronauts? If not are there plans for implementation?

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  • $\begingroup$ Don't forget to delete your cross post on Aviation.SE $\endgroup$
    – Dan Pichelman
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 19:00
  • $\begingroup$ @DanPichelman not familiar with this rule. Space Exploration SE is the more appropriate fit. How best to draw attention here for the Aviation readers that may be interested? $\endgroup$
    – 0tyranny0poverty
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 19:05
  • $\begingroup$ I agree Space Exploration is a better fit for this. See this question on Meta regarding cross posting. I'm not sure how to attract the Aviation readers (but it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of them, like you and I, read both). $\endgroup$
    – Dan Pichelman
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 19:17
  • $\begingroup$ Extreamly strong and large magnetic fields would be necessary. To generate a shield effect like the earth's magnetic field would require a huge mass and energy. $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 21:38
  • $\begingroup$ related, but not a duplicate since it is restricted to NASA research; Is NASA doing research on “mini-magnetospheres” to protect crew from radiation in space? $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 2:36

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