Blog written by Dr. Thais Russomano, Scientific Director, InnovaSpace
An interplanetary journey still seems to be a distant dream. Space agencies and private companies seek to solve the problems that still plague scientists on the ground: how to minimize the effects of cosmic radiation and the lack of Earth's gravity on a voyage to Mars?
The designer Thomas Missé, however, is not concerned about the health of the astronauts on a mission to the red planet - this worry he will leave to the space physicians. For Missé, what matters are the furniture and decoration of the houses on Mars, when one day human beings inhabit our cosmic neighbour. One of the most recent works of Missé is a Martian chair. Made of carbon fibre, it is lightweight and compact. The idea is based on a simple calculation. It costs around 5 thousand euros to transport 1 kg of weight into space, therefore, a chair weighing just 500 grams unquestionably presents a great advantage.
Missé also took into account the Martian hypogravity environment. Mars has a lower mass than our planet, which generates a smaller gravitational force than found on Earth. Anyone who weighs 90kg here will weigh just 34kg on Martian soil. Considering this, Missé offset the legs off his chair design by 8 degrees, claiming this will give greater stability in reduced gravity.
The areas of space architecture and design have seen increasing growth as greater thought goes into how to create space environments for Lunar and Mars habitats. Extraterrestrial homes and furniture will need to combine strength, functionality, comfort, low weight and small size - quite a challenge! And there is yet another key ingredient that must be added. These dwellings will need to be more than just houses - they will need to be homes - cosmic homes for astronauts! (English translation of an article originally published in Portuguese in the newspaper Diário Popular Pelotas)
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Blog written by Gustavo Dalmarco PhD, Technology Management and Innovation Specialist
The space sector is well known for having spin-in and spin-off technologies resulting from the need to develop materials and equipment that can operate in the hostile space environment. On the one hand, space missions may adapt technologies already available in other terrestrial sectors, while on the other hand different industries may absorb space technologies for various applications on Earth.
Or indeed that ESA’s satellite navigation technologies could be used to help blind people navigate using a map? Space start-ups are recognising and exploring new opportunities, such as the ability to create an on-demand meteor shower or developing new control room systems based on technology developed in space operations centres controlling satellites. Space is no longer about rockets, satellites and probes only. There is a new space system emerging aimed at creating data, services and out-of-this-world business models. As expressed by the appropriately named Richard Rocket, founder of US-based space data provider NewSpace Global, "New Space is entrepreneurial, it's about reducing costs and trying to do things in a more enterprising fashion - it requires innovative thinking".
Blog written by Joan Vernikos PhD, Thirdage llc, Culpeper VA, USA While teaching Pharmacology at Ohio State University (OSU), I was lured to NASA Ames Research Center in 1964 by Dr.Eric Ogden, the Chair in Physiology at OSU and a cardiovascular physiologist, to join him in a small unit of five research scientists. My background had been in brain/stress regulation; there was also a microbiologist, an exercise physiologist, a metabolism and a biological rhythm scientist. Very little was known about what happens to humans in space; our observations from one flight to the next slowly enabled us to form a picture of what might be happening, but progress was gradual. We had to find a way to at least simulate the effects of space flight on the ground and facilitate research that would complement and help us understand what the consequences of living in the microgravity of space might be. Eventually, the optimal model adopted by the space science research community as a means for studying the physiological changes occurring in weightlessness during spaceflight was 6˚ Head Down Bed Rest (HDBR) or variations of this. In essence, by lying down continuously, the maximum influence of the force of gravity pulling down on us, Gz (head-to-toe), is minimised to Gx (across the chest). It was from such studies in healthy volunteers that I first noticed the similarity in changes seen in astronauts in space to those of people ageing on Earth. Muscle and bone wasting, reduced blood volume, a type of anemia, fluid and electrolyte shifts, cardiovascular deficits, and reduced aerobic capacity alterations in space all resulted on return to Earth in the astronauts experiencing fainting, and disturbed balance and coordination. These changes are also known to be the underlying causes of falls in the elderly. However, this conclusion was met with disbelief, including my own, since healthy young astronauts and HDBR volunteers recovered soon after returning to Earth or on becoming ambulatory. As knowledge accumulated and the duration of space missions grew longer, it has become clear that both the physiological response to spending time in space, as well as the ageing process on Earth, are gravity-dependent conditions. The entrepreneur, visionary, investor and all-round Space enthusiast Elon Musk recently shared one more of his stellar ideas. Using social media, he unveiled photos of the new design of spacesuits for his Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, a California company better known as SpaceX. Astronauts within the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which will transport crew members on space missions, will use this new model of suit. It can be seen from Musk's photos that the design of his space clothes is very different from those used since the early 1960s, when Gagarin made the first manned Earth orbit flight. Technology has greatly improved astronaut suits over the decades, making them safer and more functional, however, only now has the heavy and uncomfortable structure given way to a more modern and sleek design. SpaceX has not yet released many details about the outfit, but Musk claims the new spacesuit has been designed to not only look more appealing, but to also associate this elegance with safety. "Was incredibly hard to balance esthetics and function. Easy to do either separately." Musk's revelation reminded InnovaSpace Scientific Director Thais Russomano about a course she taught for the Visual Culture and Contemporary Art (ViCCA) Master’s degree, run by Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, in which she contributed a module on Space & Design. One of her students decided to revisit the concepts of space suits, trying to add some modernity and visual sophistication to them. Interestingly, both the student and Elon Musk shared the same problems and concern, which was the art in finding the right balance between aesthetics, functionality, and strength. It is clear that the task of creating a space boutique will not be easy, nonetheless, it would definitely seem that cosmic fashion design is about to be launched. Blog written by Mary Upritchard
In our previous blog 'What's out there?' we suggested it is never too early to encourage the young to think about space and science. In a follow-up to that item, we present an inspirational video that every young (and not so young) space enthusiast should watch! Spare just 10 minutes of your time to hear the inspirational accounts of 3 female astronauts who were launched into space at 25,000 miles per hour in their journeys to the International Space Station (ISS). Kathryn D. Sullivan and Nicole Stott are former NASA astronauts, who between them spent 127 days in orbit, while in 2006, Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian in space when she arrived at the ISS as a self-funded space tourist for 9 days.
As of July 2016, only 60 women have flown in space, out of a total of 537 space travellers. Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first women in space on 16th June 1963, when she launched on Vostok 6, and there followed a gap of 19 years before Svetlana Savitskaya became the second women in space (Soyuz T-5, 19th July 1982). Meanwhile, the first US female astronaut to launch was Sally Ride, happening almost 20 years to the day after Tereshkova (Space shuttle Challenger, STS-7, 18th June 1983). Perhaps this short film called Dot of Light, written and directed by Eliza McNitt, in collaboration with Google, will inspire more young ladies to follow the path of the sciences and to dream about one day heading into space, to the Moon, or even Mars.
Blog written by Mary Upritchard |
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