Unit 1 Research Assignment
Mechanical and Theoretical Examination of Future Artificial
Gravity Technologies with Societal and Environmental Impacts
V. Patange
Chinguacousy Secondary School - SPH4U0
INTRODUCTION
Artificial gravity is the concept of
mimicking natural gravity experienced on
celestial bodies in environments which lack
thereof. The Russian aerospace engineer
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky had kickstarted the
concept of artificial gravity after doubting the
safety of human biology in constant
weightlessness during the late 1800s (Clément &
Bukley, 2007). As humans continue to explore
and learn about the world beyond the
atmosphere,
orbital
experiments
and
observations have made the fact of health
problems abundantly clear; according to Grimm
et al. (2016) human bodies undergo skeletal and
muscular
atrophy
along
with
poorer
cardiovascular and immune system performance.
The prospect of simulating gravitational force to
keep astronauts in space healthy in microgravity
environments makes artificial gravity an
important point of discussion when considering
extended space flights harboring humans.
Through implementation of artificial gravity, it
is considered that many health adversities which
humans—and biology in general develop—can
be mitigated with utilization of artificial gravity
(National
Aeronautics
and
Space
Administration, 2022).
DYNAMICS AND MECHANICS
Artificial gravity can be achieved through
usage of circular motion dynamics with a
centrifugal device. By taking advantage of the
centripetal and fictitious centrifugal forces at
play during rotation, earth-like gravitation would
be imitated. Newton’s law of inertia explains
that matter in motion prefers to move in the
direction of motion already prescribed to it, so
when the centripetal force pulls back on it, an
opposite force will be experienced by the object
in its attempt to continue its otherwise constant
straight motion (Editors of Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 2023). This is why centrifugal force
is felt. Bringing this concept to creating artificial
gravity in future space stations, by having
humans undergo centripetal acceleration,
centrifugal force will be experienced as they are
pushed into the normal of the centrifuge,
resulting in a gravitational force sensation.
Putting this theory into practice is another
challenge. As the difficulties faced will be
related to the engineering needed to keep the
centrifuge spinning, in proper condition, and in
cost effective manor.
SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS
Society can be massively influenced by
artificial gravity as, if the concept is proven, this
can influence many generations after to start
looking at the stars and renew interest in space
exploration in the public perception. An example
of this could be seen in the Apollo programs in
the midst of the 21st century. During this time,
societal impact was immense. The world
changed quickly as the moon landing was
broadcasted to every T.V. in every household in
America and around the globe. From the large
audience and attention which this program
cultivated, this seemed to mark a turning point in
history for humanity where exploration to other
celestial bodies is within our grasp (Chaikin,
n.d.). The importance of the event is that it
inspired many to push beyond what was thought
possible and marked a new era of humanity.
With the development of artificial gravity, this
can have incredible impacts on survivability and
belonging in space. Another era of human
civilization can be jump started as extended
exposure of microgravity can be treated by
circular motion. Through artificial gravity,
human adaptability in weightlessness would
drastically increase. Now, there is negative
sentiment towards exploring space in general as
the argument is that money can be used for more
urgent needs down here on earth. This was the
case for the moon landing as well, where instead
of using the money to explore the moon, it could
have been redirected to the people in need of
food and shelter (Chaikin, n.d.). This argument
suggests that space exploration is a waste of
time, not an investment. Spending time and
resources here on earth right now would
definitely make an impact on earth, however, we
would be missing out on discoveries which
would otherwise return rewards which can
further help with the current issues on this planet
as these issues are more urgent than the curiosity
and drive to explore space. An example of this is
looking at the different inventions and
discoveries which NASA made during the
process of space exploration. An additional
reason for investing is that NASA strengthens
the economy through offering jobs and increases
industry productivity (Curto, 1995) this results
in a healthier economy for reinvesting into the
pressing problems we face every day.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
As more material is launched into space, the
more spaced debris enters low-earth orbit. Here,
space debris can be very dangerous as it collides
with other debris, turning into more super fast
moving particles waiting to destroy operational
space vehicles and equipment in orbit
(Gregersen, 2019). This creates greater difficulty
to establish orbits as more maneuvers and tighter
timings are needed to avoid debris. Inserting a
space station with the capability of artificial
gravity will require more modularity and
launches to set up, resulting in greater amounts
of debris released into low-earth orbit. To fix
this, a solution to reduce space debris is to have
stricter air traffic regulations into orbit and
orbital flight plans which avoid grouping of
debris (Pelton, 2019). Moving on, space
launches and deorbiting of debris can disrupt
natural
life
and
ecosystems
through
anthropogenic means (Koroleva et al., 2018).
This means that the sound and heat are most
prevalent in interfering with ecosystems and
habitats as rockets cause most noticeable energy
through these means. This can lead to regression
in wildlife in the area and destroy habitats.
References
Chaikin,
A.
(n.d.).
Live
from
the
Moon:
The
Societal
Impact
of
Apollo.
https://history.nasa.gov/sp4801-chapter4.pdf
Clément, G., & Bukley, A. (2007). Artificial Gravity. In Google Books. Springer Science &
Business
Media.
https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YUcjOsG0hi0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=ar
tificial+gravity&ots=QHrul4FgjS&sig=QA4_HZXJcJmX8FbKp8TzpBy00IU#v=onepag
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Curto, P. (1995). Paper Session III-A - NASA’s Greatest Inventions and Contributions of
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https://www.britannica.com/technology/centrifuge
Gregersen, E. (2019). space debris | Facts, Removal, & Research. In Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-debris
Grimm, D., Grosse, J., Wehland, M., Mann, V., Reseland, J. E., Sundaresan, A., & Corydon, T. J.
(2016). The impact of microgravity on bone in humans. Bone, 87, 44–56.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2015.12.057
Koroleva, T. V., Krechetov, P. P., Semenkov, I. N., Sharapova, A. V., Lednev, S. A.,
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2022, September 6). Artificial Gravity
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Partial
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for
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in
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