HR: 0800h
AN: SH51A-0263    [Abstracts]
TI: Radiation Mitigation at the Moon by the Terrestrial Magnetosphere
AU: * Winglee, R M
EM: winglee@ess.washington.edu
AF: Univ. of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195-1310 United States
AU: Harnett, E
AF: Univ. of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195-1310 United States
AB: During its orbit, the Moon crosses into the terrestrial magnetosphere. The magnetic field from the later can potentially provide radiation shielding from solar energetic particle events, which can be a significant hazard during extra-vehicle activities or during human exploration of the lunar surface. The level of shielding though studied through multi-fluid simulations of the terrestrial and lunar magnetospheres. It is shown that the level of shielding is dependent on magnetospheric conditions and to a lesser extent on interactions of the lunar magnetic anomalies with the magnetic fields of the terrestrial magnetosphere. The differences in shielding capabilities are demonstrated by examining the magnetosphere and its interaction with the Moon during periods of northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field.
DE: 2431 Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions (2736)
DE: 2463 Plasma convection
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions
DE: 2753 Numerical modeling
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting