When unattached electrons collide with spacecraft, the build-up of electric charge can cause malfunctions, but recent observations model near-Earth regions that are likely safe zones.
safety
Posted inFeatures
Women in Oceanography Still Navigate Rough Seas
Female scientists have weathered bias, lack of support, and unsafe work environments since the dawn of oceanography. Could recent initiatives, technology, and awareness chart the way to safer waters?
Posted inFeatures
Underground Robots: How Robotics Is Changing the Mining Industry
From exploring flooded sites to providing alerts, use of robotics aims to “increase the arsenal of tools that can help miners work more safely and efficiently.”
Posted inNews
Westward Expansion, Technology, and Tornado Fatalities
By mining records from 1808 to 2017, researchers can now show just how many lives have likely been saved by technology like radar.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Do People Drink When They Think Their Tap Water Isn’t Safe?
An analysis of nationwide housing data shows that minority households disproportionately bear the multibillion-dollar economic burden that comes from believing their water is unsafe.
Posted inNews
“Eco-friendly” Flame Retardant May Have Eco-poor Breakdown
These flame retardants replaced earlier chemicals known to degrade into environmentally harmful by-products. The newer compounds may do the same thing.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Sea Level Rise Threatens Hundreds of Wastewater Treatment Plants
Untreated sewage could affect 5 times more people than direct flooding, a new study shows.
Posted inNews
Damage Assessment by Laser Could Focus Postearthquake Response
Airborne lidar surveys taken before and after a powerful 2016 earthquake in Japan revealed the potential for such surveys to identify hard-hit buildings quickly.
Posted inNews
Group Touts “Beneficial” Coal Ash Recycling
An industry group says recycling coal ash, the second-largest U.S. waste stream, helps the environment and economy. Recycling has a role but also raises concerns, environmentalists argue.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Lightning Creates "Killer Electrons" in Earth's Radiation Belts
New calculations show that lightning-triggered plasma waves in Earth's magnetosphere absorb energy from slow particles and energize electrons to levels that can damage satellites severely.