With higher rates comes a greater risk of DNA or cellular damage, and a corresponding increase in cancer rates. Without those tens of thousands of feet to offer protection, passengers and crews suffer far higher rates of cosmic ray bombardment. One recent study, conducted in cooperation with other research groups, came up with more efficient designs for semis that could saves billions of dollars a year in fuel costs.That's what happens at sea level cruising altitude for airline flights is an entirely different matter.
The space agency's wind tunnels have been used to improve the aerodynamics of race cars and semitrailer-trucks. This may well be NESC's first foray into automotive engineering, but NASA has delved into the field before. The DOT will reimburse the space agency for its costs, which are budgeted at $1 million. Henry said NASA's contribution will be equivalent to the time of nine full-time employees over a period of six months, although more than nine people will be involved. The cost of the two studies combined is expected to amount to $3 million, according to the Department of Transportation. The National Academy of Sciences' Transportation Research Board will also be studying the issues surrounding automotive electronics on an industrywide basis over the course of the next 15 months. The Toyota accelerator investigation, led by the NHTSA, is due to be completed by late summer. But experts say that as the circuitry in our cars gets more sophisticated, cosmic rays become more of a concern.
In space, cosmic rays can scramble the brains of a Mars orbiter. At high altitudes, they could bring an airplane to the brink of disaster. And on the ground, they can crash computers and reset routers.Įngineers try to make sure that the circuits they design are robust enough to weather cosmic rays, and Toyota insists its electronics are not at fault. If those particles hit electronic chips, they can spark unpredictable little jolts of energy in the circuitry, potentially flipping bits out of their proper state. The report cited an anonymous memo sent to the National Highway Transportation Safety Board, complaining that "the automotive industry has yet to truly anticipate" the effects of cosmic radiation.Įarth's atmosphere stops most of the dangerous cosmic rays that zoom in from outer space, but some particles get through nevertheless.
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Some suspect Toyota's troubles are the result of electronic glitches, and those are issues that will get close attention from the NASA engineers. Glitches could be caused by electromagnetic incompatibilities, or corrosion, or metal stress effects such as "tin whiskers," or elusive single-event effects such as cosmic-ray hits.Ĭosmic rays? Hitting cars? The connection made headlines last month when the Detroit Free Press reported that subatomic particles from outer space were being considered as a potential cause of the accelerator glitches.
Just as the aviation industry adopted fly-by-wire systems, the automotive industry is moving toward drive-by-wire. "There isn't that much difference anymore between spacecraft, aircraft and modern automobiles," Henry observed. Automobiles are relying more heavily on electronics for control systems. Nowadays, that's not as big a leap as you might think.
However, the Toyota investigation apparently represents a new frontier: "To our knowledge, this is the first time the NESC has done anything related to automobiles," Henry said. "They range all the way from the shuttle and the International Space Station to interplanetary missions, Hubble, earth satellites and aviation questions," he told me. Since its formation seven years ago, NESC has taken on more than 100 engineering and safety assessments, said Keith Henry, a spokesman at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.
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