Forcefields will guard Mars ships from solar ion storms

[Rick]

A team of top boffins believe that they have cracked one of the main problems of interplanetary travel - that of surviving deadly solar radiation storms. The physicists say they have come up with an idea for a crafty forcefield which could stand off the protoplasm-punishing particle squalls of deep space.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/04/magno_forcefields_for_mars_ships/

[Rick]

Future astronauts could benefit from a magnetic "umbrella" that deflects harmful space radiation around their crew capsule, scientists say.

The super-fast charged particles that stream away from the Sun pose a significant threat to any long-duration mission, such as to the Moon or Mars.

But the research team says a spaceship equipped with a magnetic field generator could protect its occupants.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7706844.stm