18th IAA Humans in Space Symposium (2011)
Artificial Gravity — What Still Needs to be Done
L. R. Young. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
Now that human space exploration is once again looking toward longer voyages, beyond the moon, countermeasures against the debilitating effects of weightlessness need serious consideration. Artificial gravity, that perennial hope for a universal antidote, has re-emerged as a worthy candidate. Recently we have shown that even short radius centrifuges, rotating at speeds up to 180 deg/sec, can be tolerated without motion sickness if an incremental adaptation schedule is used. Furthermore, bed-rest simulations of weightlessness have generally supported the efficacy of short radius intermittent centrifugation. Now the opportunity to actually test the feasibility and efficacy of AG in space presents itself, with the possibility of a human centrifuge on the ISS. Challenges and solutions will be discussed.
Supported by NASA and by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute
(NCC -9-58)
2035.pdf