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According to the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and the U.S. National
Space Policy, humans should be capable of exploring asteroids by 2025
and Mars in the 2030s. Unless an effective countermeasure can be
developed, minimizing trip duration within the Mars mission architecture
will be critical.
Two general mission types have been proposed for manned Mars
exploration, and it is important to recognize the critical role artificial
gravity could play in each
Short-stay mission: 30-60 days on the surface, 560-850 days total
Considering a period of 1 to 2 weeks would be required
for crew acclimation to a Martian gravity of 0.38g, the
duration and detail of ground operations would be severely
limited.
Long-stay mission: 550 days on the surface, <200 day journeys. (3).
Mathematical Parameters
Artificial gravity, the centripetal accelerations inertial reaction acting on a
body in a circular motion, is defined by four parameters: radius, angular
velocity, tangential velocity and centripetal acceleration. Although artificial
gravity is an inertial force and not in fact gravity, Einsteins equivalence
principle states that is nonetheless indistinguishable from gravity (4).
V=R
Acent = 2 R
Abstract
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Current Mars mission architecture envisions one of two trajectories differentiated primarily by the time spent on the Martian surface.
Prolonged weightlessness, however, has proven to adversely influence a number of physiological systems by introducing intracranial pressure,
bone demineralization, muscular atrophy and vision degradation among other conditions. With deficiencies in current countermeasures, a
long-term stay trajectory is essentially ruled out leaving the challenge to perform effective and detailed Martian ground operations in 30 to 60
days.
This poster serves to review proposed artificial gravity concepts from a systems engineering perspective and furthermore, to identify how the
use of carbon nanotubes could facilitate the development of a tethered design. With advances in materials engineering, new and developing
materials may be effective solutions to common pitfalls in artificial gravity designs. Carbon nanotubes have garnered attention in the last
decade for their projected mechanical properties, and research is being carried out to further characterize and manipulate these properties. A
well-researched marriage between artificial gravity concepts and emerging material technology could provide an effective pathway to human
exploration of Mars and further into deep-space.
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The National Research Council ranked what they considered the 16 most
critical technologies for NASA to focus in the next five years. Longduration (crew) health ranked 6th and lightweight and multifunctional
materials and structures ranked 13th. Both were noted as being critically
important by the Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT) as well. (3).
With the goal of manned exploration mission to Mars fast approaching,
the understanding of current technology and extrapolation of this
knowledge into the development of new technology must become a
serious priority.
Emily E. Petersen
NASA Langley Research Center: NIFS Intern
Vehicle Analysis Branch | Systems Analysis & Concepts Directorate
Mentor: Dr. Glenn A. Hrinda, P.E.
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Artificial gravity concepts can be classified by the degree of integration into a larger spacecraft system. Intra-vehicle designs involve a short
arm (~2m) centrifuge with a singular vehicular compartment onboard a larger vehicle. Vehicle segment designs rotate only a portion of the
vehicle while whole vehicle rotation rotates the entire vehicle.
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References
1 Borowski,
(2)
(1)
(8)
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Introduction
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Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank my mentor
Dr. Glenn Hrinda for his support throughout the internship. I would also
like to acknowledge Mia Siochi and the NASA Langley Nano Incubator
team for their work and as well as the numerous individuals at NASA
Langley who made working at Langley such a valuable experience.
Contact Information
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Emily E. Petersen
eepeters@mtu.edu
emilypetersen.weebly.com
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