Deflector Shields

Human spacecraft may have some form of deflector shield technology long before the starships depicted in Star Trek-- or their real-life equivalents-- are whizzing around the galaxy.

Researchers in England have found they can create a magnetic field in the lab that can form something like a bubble and block radiation from entering the bubble. That's a long way from a deflector shield for a spaceship, but it's a start. Such a system on Mars-bound ships, they say, wouldn't block gamma or cosmic rays, but it would deflect radiation from the Sun, which is by far the biggest danger to astronauts on interplanetary flights.

Several unmanned probes to Mars and elsewhere are being planned for the next two decades. If the first versiom of such a shield can be developed quickly, one of those probes might serve as a useful test bed. Lunar trips might test the first shields of manned ships. By the time people head for Mars, the shield system might be fairly robust.