In this month’s post we explore a few concepts and challenges related to artificial gravity (AG) that when explored and understood will enable human’s to live healthy lives and thrive in space. First up, Austria-based architect and civil engineer Werner Grandl, a researcher of space stations and space colonies, and mechanical engineer Clemens Böck describe their concept for the evolving construction of a spinning Artificial Gravity Orbital Station (AGOS) in this Research Gate working paper. AGOS is envisioned as a potential successor to the International Space Station (ISS).
The primary aim of AGOS is to mitigate the adverse health effects of microgravity on humans by providing AG. This includes preventing bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and other physiological issues associated with long-duration spaceflight (more on this later). The station would also serve as a platform for scientific research under varying gravity conditions, potentially including zero-gravity, Mars-like gravity (0.38 g), and Earth-like gravity.
AGOS is proposed as a modular, rotating space station with an initial stage composed of four living modules for a crew of 24 and four zero-gravity central modules. The station is designed to be 78 meters in length, span 102 meters, have a rotation radius of 40 meters and rotate at 4.2 rpm to provide approximately 0.9 g of AG for comfortable living conditions. A non-rotating central hub would carry solar panels providing power as well as docking modules, connecting tubes, and a structural framework to maintain stability. The next stage would double the living quarter modules to eight for 48 occupants. The final configuration would finish out the station with 32 modules for 180 inhabitants.
While the ISS operates in microgravity, which is ideal for certain types of research, AGOS would provide a dual environment where both microgravity and AG conditions can be studied. This dual capability could enhance research in life sciences, materials research, and space technology development.
There are difficulties associated with the concept though, which will have to be resolved. The paper acknowledges that the engineering complexities of maintaining a rotating structure in space, ensuring stability, and dealing with the dynamics of spin gravity on the human body, especially disorientation caused by Coriolis forces, will be quite challenging to overcome.
Still, the future benefits made possible by AGOS will make overcoming these challenges worth the effort. When realized, AGOS would help enable more ambitious space exploration goals, including using the facility for human missions to Mars, where AG may be necessary and beneficial for long-term crew health during transit. It also could open avenues for commercial space ventures in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), including tourism and manufacturing under partial gravity conditions. Ultimately, AGOS could be a significant leap in space station design, enhancing both the scientific output and the prospects for human health in space for extended periods.
In a recent update on their concept penned by Grandl in ResearchOutreach, along with collaborator Adriano V. Autino, CEO of Space Renaissance International, they extend the possibility of constructing self-sustaining colonies in space via utilization of lunar and asteroid materials. Asteroids, in particular, could be hollowed out to serve as natural shields against cosmic radiation and micrometeoroids while mining for resources like metals and water.
Grandl describes a feasible design where a mined-out asteroid provides radiation shielding for a rotating toroidal habitat built inside the body for a population of 2000 people. Rotationally driven by magnetic levitation and natural lighting provided by reflected sunlight, the facility would mimic Earth gravity and environmental conditions for healthy living. This colony could sustainably support human life with integrated systems for air, water, food, and waste management.
This approach would only work for larger solid body asteroids which are fewer in abundance and tend to be further away from Earth in the main asteroid belt. Smaller “rubble pile” bodies that are loose conglomerations of material like the Near Earth Object (NEO) Bennu recently sampled by the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx, could be utilized in an innovative concept covered a couple of years ago by SSP. The asteroid material is “bagged” with an ultralight carbon nanofiber mesh enclosure creating a cylindrical structure spun to create AG on the inner surface. Physicist and coauthor on this work Adam Frank, mentioned this approach when he recently appeared on the Lex Friedman podcast (timestamp 1:01:57) discussing (among many other space related topics) the search for life in the universe and alien civilizations that may have established space settlements throughout the galaxy and beyond (highly recommended).
SSP has covered a scenario conceived by Dr. Jim Logan similar to Grandl’s but going big using several O’Neill Island One rotating colonies strung end-to-end in a tunnel drilled through the Martian moon Deimos.
The authors see the creation of these permanent spin gravity settlements in space as the next step in human evolution. This vision, once considered science fiction, is grounded in realistic engineering and scientific principals.
Back to the near future, Joe Carroll addresses two topics pertinent to how AG might help mitigate deterioration of human health in space in a couple of articles in the December 9, 2024 issue of the Space Review. In the first piece, Carroll poses the provocative question “What do we need astronauts for?”, and argues that robotic spacecraft have surpassed human astronauts in space exploration due to their ability to travel farther, endure harsher conditions, and deliver more data over longer periods at lower costs. This advantage will become even greater as robotic technology and AI progress in the near future.
As an aside, for the foreseeable future there will be a debate over humans vs. machines in space. Regardless of concerns related to risks to safety, costs, and physical limitations, humans will still have the edge over robots for a while when it comes to adaptability/problem solving, complex task execution, spontaneous scientific decisions and public inspiration. A collaborative approach, leveraging the strengths of both humans and robots to achieve more efficient and effective outcomes may be better for space development in the near term.
That being said, Carroll suggests that human spaceflight activities should be focused on assessing the viability of settlements off Earth, particularly by studying human health in lunar and Martian gravity. He emphasizes the lack of data on long-term health effects in low-gravity environments and proposes the use of AG systems in LEO to simulate lunar and Martian gravity for research purposes. Carroll concludes that understanding human health in low-gravity environments is crucial for future space settlements and that humans will play a vital role in this research.
This leads into his second article which provides suggestions on how to quickly test AG in LEO. He suggests launching and deploying a long, duel dumbbell variable gravity station composed of a Crew Dragon capsule tethered to a Falcon 9 second stage that rotates to produce AG. Providing lunar gravity at one end and Martian gravity at the other, the facility would provide an on orbital laboratory where researchers could study human adaptation to these conditions. Such tests would be more cost-effective and less risky than conducting experiments directly on the Moon or Mars.
But there are challenges associated with determining appropriate spin rates. This is vital as they influence the station’s radius and cost. Previous studies using vertical-axis rotating rooms on Earth have shown that higher spin rates can cause discomfort, including nausea and headaches. However, these ground-based tests may not accurately represent the sensory effects experienced in space-based AG facilities, where the spin axis is perpendicular to the direction of gravity.
This approach, on which Joe graced the pages of SSP previously, could help determine whether human settlements on the Moon or Mars are feasible and sustainable, especially when it comes to human reproduction and agriculture in lower gravity levels. Incidentally, he contributed to my piece on the impact of the human Gravity Prescription on space settlement presented last May at the International Space Development Conference 2024.
And in case you missed it, Kasper Kupica shared with SSP his Spacelife Direct approach to quickly getting started by selling AG real estate in LEO.
Implementing AG in space habitats could enhance human health and improve various aspects of space station operations (e.g. fluid flow, heat conduction, fire safety) while enabling studies of human physiology under low gravity conditions. Conducting AG tests in LEO is a prudent step toward understanding human health, determining biology related requirements for future lunar or Martian colonies and may ultimately determine the long term strategy for space settlement.
