NASA is currently working on the development of a space-based earthquake warning system.

NASA scientists could be on the brink of developing a satellite-based early warning system to alert authorities to impending earthquakes, according to reports.

The BBC has revealed that researchers have found a close link between electrical disturbances in the ionosphere – the edge of the earth’s atmosphere – and impending earthquakes on the ground below.

The ionosphere is electrically charged through exposure to solar radiation. According to scientists, satellites have detected disturbances in this part of the earth’s atmosphere 100-600km above areas later hit by earthquakes.

It is reported that such a signal was spotted in the days leading up to the earthquake which rocked China’s Sichuan province on 12 May.

NASA has joined forces with the UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) to investigate the feasibility of developing a space-based warning system.

If such technology was developed, it could be used to avert the level of disaster caused by earthquakes like the Chinese tragedy which has so far claimed some 69,000 lives, with 20,000 still reported missing.

Minoru Freund, a Physicist and Director for Advanced Aerospace Materials and Devices at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, told BBC News: “I do believe that we will be able to establish a clear correlation between certain earthquakes and certain pre-earthquake signals, in an unbiased way. I am cautiously optimistic that we have good scientific data, and we are designing a series of experiments to verify our data.”

Stuart Eves, Head of Business Development at SSTL, added: “The evidence suggests we’re now crossing the boundary in terms of technology readiness. What we don’t know is how big the effect is and how long-lasting it is before the earthquake.”

By Natasha Piscitelli