The Glowing Scientists | Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!
Seattle, WA
The Challenge | Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!
Calculate and visualize the radiation exposure for an actual or hypothetical polar, or near-polar flight!
Stratospheric Maglev
We aim to discover whether a stratospheric maglev train, which could safely whisk passengers around the globe at hyper-sonic speeds, is as safe as an airliner from a space radiation perspective.
There are several advantages to making a stratospheric maglev system that would to serve the pacific rim:
1) It would be supported by tension rather than compression, thus cost less to construct,
2) It would be less costly to maintain a vacuum, and
3) Its transit corridor would be above the reach of terrestrial treats, such as weather, seismic activity, and commandeered aircraft.
However, there is a concern - would such a system expose passengers to a greater dose of space radiation than the equivalent airline trip? This is the question we seek to answer during this challenge.
SpaceApps is a NASA incubator innovation program.