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T O P I C R E V I E WBuelA colleague asked me yesterday why radiation didn't affect the radio or TV signal back from the lunar surface (the insinuation was that the radiation would stop or alter the signal).Can anyone offer some info that would educate me better on if this is even an issue?Dave_JohnsonGenerally, not an issue. Radio signals are sent/received on a regular basis with the various spacecraft exploring the solar system, with little interference. Situations that CAN affect communications would be the Earth's ionosphere being affected by solar flares/coronal mass ejections, which do happen occasionally, or if the spacecraft is behind the Sun as seen from Earth. Radiation will not affect the signals directly.BlackarrowRegarding a spacecraft transmitting from "behind the sun" I offer this extract from "Pioneer Saturn Encounter" (Ames Research Center, Sept. 1979): When this picture was taken, the spacecraft, as seen from Earth, was about to pass behind the sun, and solar activity was interfering with spacecraft communications. The image quality, therefore, is not as good as for pictures taken inbound... The image itself, seen in isolation, doesn't really illustrate the point very well, as the publication contains both raw and computer-enhanced images and the raw inbound images and the post-encounter image look much the same in terms of quality, so I surmise that the interference was not enough to impact too much on individual images.Jim BehlingRadiation and radio waves are not the same spectrum.JonnyedIonizing radiation can and will have a detrimental effect on ELECTRONICS, including communication electronics, in considerable radiation fields over time. Strength of radiation field, type of rad, and length of time are all factors.In addition to the types of radiation we experience earthbound, space travelers must contend with Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) consisting of heavy ions and amped up protons. So electronics MUST BE SHIELDED in radiation fields for longer-term operations because the ionizing radiation may rip electrons off circuit boards, transistors, chips etc, could make wiring more brittle and may even cause leakage from one circuit to the next.
Can anyone offer some info that would educate me better on if this is even an issue?
Situations that CAN affect communications would be the Earth's ionosphere being affected by solar flares/coronal mass ejections, which do happen occasionally, or if the spacecraft is behind the Sun as seen from Earth. Radiation will not affect the signals directly.
When this picture was taken, the spacecraft, as seen from Earth, was about to pass behind the sun, and solar activity was interfering with spacecraft communications. The image quality, therefore, is not as good as for pictures taken inbound...
In addition to the types of radiation we experience earthbound, space travelers must contend with Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) consisting of heavy ions and amped up protons. So electronics MUST BE SHIELDED in radiation fields for longer-term operations because the ionizing radiation may rip electrons off circuit boards, transistors, chips etc, could make wiring more brittle and may even cause leakage from one circuit to the next.
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