Lab seeks to forecast space weather

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications said Wednesday it will start research on "space weather forecasts," a system to predict turbulence in the cosmos caused by solar activities.

Using two satellites that observe sudden eruptions of gas from the sun's surface and changes of plasma around Earth, the system is expected to forecast activities of X-rays and other high energy particles released from the sun, according to the ministry's Communications Research Laboratory.

The research will focus on development of a plasma detector and a system that can analyze data within the satellite. Such a surveillance system will help prevent damage from high-energy particles and X-rays to the functions of artificial satellites and human activities on international space stations.