Artificial mass-loading for protection from major space weather events

In the past, space weather researchers have worked to predict geomagnetic disturbances, sometimes providing advanced warnings of up to several days. Rather than prediction, this presentation provides a proposed model for protection. A model is proposed where the magnetosphere can be temporarily modified through active mass-loading to mitigate and reduce the impact of solar wind structures on Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. Global numerical simulations will be presented demonstrating this process and quantifying the required resources to fortify against strong space weather events. The results demonstrate that with modern, or near-future technology, the intensity of a major geomagnetic storm could be actively reduced by 50% or more, protecting technology and human life.