Determine long-term climate impacts of galactic cosmic rays

Determine whether fluxes of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) incident on Earth produce any long-term effects on Earth's climate, distinguishing their contribution from other solar and geophysical drivers.

Background

The report surveys particle environments affecting planets, including galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), which penetrate deep into planetary atmospheres and can drive ionization and chemistry. While GCRs at Earth are generally too sparse to pose a direct biological hazard, their possible cumulative climatic influence is uncertain.

In the broader context of assessing how particle radiation shapes planetary atmospheres and habitability, clarifying whether GCRs have long-term climatic effects is necessary to interpret Solar System history and to extrapolate lessons to exoplanetary systems.