London, Oct 24 ANI: Scientists are developing an
optical distress beacon for astronauts working outside their spacecraft, which would enable their screams for
help to be heard in
space in case of an
emergency. According to a
report in New Scientist, the device could provide an
alert if an astronaut is unable to
speak or
radio links fail. The distress beacon
will be attached to sensors monitoring heartbeat or breathing, and
will have LEDs visible up to 800 meters away. "The astronaut might even flash them to send messages in
Morse code," said
Sarah Harris of
Harvey Mudd
College in
Claremont,
California, who is developing the device with staff at the
Aerospace Corporation in El
Segundo,
California. Extra-vehicular
activities are becoming more common. In 2007, there were 23 EVAs involving
International Space Station crew members, for example, more than double the figure for 2005. ANI