Final Project

Cameron W.

Legislator:  Troy Fraser, Senator

(Click on the image above to enlarge.)

The Effects of Micorgavity and Possible Solutions

 

As we enter the twenty first century the idea of learning about the history of Mars and its current state has tweaked the interest of scientists and engineers all over the world. With the International Space Station being built the excitement of humans and robots in space is becoming more interesting. This could very well produce the boost for rearing up a new generation of people who will be interested in space travel. As theories and ideas are being tossed around about probable solutions of how to tackle Mars you can't help but come up with your own. One interesting question is whether to continue sending robots to Mars or to try sending humans on a mission.  Humans are more flexible, adaptable, and perceptive than robots. On the other side Humans cost more to send into space. Personally I side with sending humans into space and when doing so you have to consider safety as the top priority.

Humans that travel to Mars will probably look at a one way trip of at least six months. There are many factors that come into play with a trip of this length in space. A few of these hazards that will have to be dealt with are radiation, meteoroid impacts, rendering medical treatment, and microgravity.  There are many factors that need to be seen to in a trip to Mars and when you look at all of the hazards it would probably be hard to choose which one is the most dangerous and so deserves the most attention. Of all the hazards the effects of microgravity appeal to me the most. I believe it would be a shame to send excellent conditioned human beings into space just to see them lose that hard earned health.

First I would like to try to explain microgravity and some of its effects.  Microgravity occurs when you enter space. While on the Earth you are under its gravitational pull. This gives you a since of direction. Because you live under the powers of the Earth's gravitational pull your body has become used to it and functions accordingly. Once you enter space you start to float around and your body is confused. You have no sense of what is up or what is down. The effects of microgravity come in two main problems. These problems are called Space Motion Sickness (SMS) and Deconditioning.

Space Motion Sickness occurs in fifty percent or more of the astronauts that go into space. Space Motion Sickness is similar to the motion sickness that we are prone to here on Earth. The symptoms that accompany Space Motion Sickness vary from fatigue, nausea, and vomiting to a loss of appetite, malaise, and gastrointestinal disturbances. The cause of this problem is yet to be directly pinned down by scientists. Although, most all believe that part of the problem begins with the vestibular system of the inner ear, or the balance organs. Even though Space Motion Sickness is not really life threatening it does need to be solved because its side effects could cause astronauts to fail in their duties.

The other problem of microgravity to be addressed is deconditioning.  Deconditioning is more harmful than Space Motion Sickness because it deals with the weakening of the physiological systems of the body. An example of this is the cardiovascular system. While the human body is on Earth it has to work against the force of Earth's gravitational pull. While the human body is in space it does not have to work against the stronger force of Earth, although there is always some force working on it no matter how minuet. These facts show us that the heart has to pump harder to force our blood to its proper place in the body here on Earth; where as, in space the heart has the luxury of lessening its pace to achieve the same goal. Since the heart works less it puts out less blood, the heart rate decreases, the size of the heart decreases, and there is a lower blood volume regulation. The real problem occurs when the astronauts return to Earth and again have to begin working against its force. Another aspect of deconditoning is that there is reduced weight bearing or what you might call bone disuse. This happens because the body has fewer forces to work against so it experiences less stress. This reduced weight bearing causes decreased bone size and volume and also causes a loss of phosphorus, calcium, and nitrogen. Studies have shown that astronauts lose 1.2 % of the bone mass in their lower hip and spine per month due to microgravity. This deconditioning also includes decreased muscle tone and strength along with weakened reflexes and decreased tolerance for physical work.

The effects of deconditioning have not been solved totally, but there are ideas floating around out there for ways of curing this harmful problem.  These range from feeding astronauts nutritional supplements, having astronauts do exercises, to producing artificial gravity. I believe that if you combined, all three would work together to form a feasible solution for long duration space travel. The following is my explanation of how the three would work together in accomplishing the goal of eliminating deconditioning of the human body in microgravity.

The spacecraft in Figure A that I drew was designed after the explanation of Clarke Benton. It would be used for travel to Mars. During the flight the astronauts would be fed supplements that would assist their bodies in not losing bone mass. This would be just one part of a hopefully successful process.

The Mars transporter would consist of a few main parts. There would be the propulsion engines that would be used to keep the spacecraft on track so that it could coast towards Mars. Also the engines would supply the thrust needed to propel the spacecraft back to Earth. Next are the fuel storage tanks that would hold the fuel necessary to bring the astronauts safely back home. The storage compartment would be used to hold equipment, food, and other supplies that would be necessary for a trip to Mars.

Astronauts would probable spend most of their time in the working/ living space. This area is the control station for the ship. Astronauts would maneuver the spacecraft from this room. Also, the astronauts would eat in this area. Then there is the Mars Lander, which would depart from the rest of the spacecraft in order to descend to Mars. After the Lander has departed from the rest of the spacecraft the spacecraft will continue to orbit Mars and act as a command post.

Now, we move on to the special aspects of the Mars Transporter. First, is the center hub. From this two tunnels extend out on opposite sides of the hub. At the end of the tunnels are two compartments. One is a sleeping compartment and the other is an exercise compartment. The center hub along with the tunnels and their compartments will rotate in a circular motion. This motion will create artificial gravity in the outer compartments. By having artificial gravity in the sleeping compartments the astronauts will have a force working on their bodies while they sleep that will counter act some of the effects of microgravity. Next we come to the exercise compartment and its artificial gravity. By having artificial gravity in the exercise compartment there will be more force exerted on the astronauts' bodies as they work out than there would be in just regular microgravity. Since there is more force being exerted on their bodies they will experience more tension and the workouts will better serve the body in maintaining strength. This artificial gravity may also help astronauts with the problem of Space Motion Sickness.  As we go in to the future we will look to travel farther and farther into space. There are many hazards that have to be sought after and fixed.  Deconditioning of the body is only one, but it is harmful and has to be addressed. I cannot say for sure if creating artificial gravity in space is the answer to our problem. One thing is for sure though, we will never know if we do not give it a try.

 

The Human Factor. [Online] Available

http://aerospacescholars.org/scholars/earthmars/unit4/liftoff-humanfactor.htm,

June 25, 2001.

 

Space Motion Sickness. [Online] Available

http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx/basket/factsheets/sms.html, June 26, 2001.

 

David S. F. Portree. Romance to Reality mission plans. [Online] Available

http://members.aol.com/dsfportree/ex89i.htm, June 26, 2001.

Last Updated:  09/10/01