If humanity is to settle Mars, with Elon Musk leading the way, the issue of biological contamination of the planet’s surface by humans will need to be resolved in the context of the Outer Space Treaty. This article presents a reasonable compromise proposing a system of three zones partitioned for science, habitation, and resource utilization. This approach minimizes contamination while providing for scientific exploration and Musk’s settlements.
Destination Deimos – prime real estate for space settlement
At SSI 50, the Space Settlement Enterprise conference sponsored by the Space Studies Institute, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jim Logan, a medical doctor with 22 years experience as a NASA Flight Surgeon where he served as Chief, Flight Medicine and Chief, Medical Operations. Dr. Logan along with former Flight Dynamics Officer Dan Adamo, developed a strong argument in 2014 for Deimos as the ideal destination for initial space outposts. Says Logan, “Deimos, for a number of VERY valid reasons, is the best choice by far for early settlement”. Their paper outlining this concept provides a convincing argument that Deimos is the most valuable piece of real estate in the solar system.
On the last day of the conference Dr. Logan presented an innovative concept for a string of O’Neill type settlements constructed in a tunnel bored straight through Deimos. The architecture addresses the problem of radiation protection and delivers Earth normal gravity while providing an easy to get to platform for telerobotic exploration of Mars. Videos of this presentation will be coming soon on the SSI YouTube Channel.
Logan and Adamo are co-founders of the Space Enterprise Institute, which provides evidence-based research inspiring expansion of human activity in space.
SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise videos now available
Determining the Gravity Rx
Joe Carroll of Tethers Applications, Inc. delivered a presentation on a proposal for a LEO partial gravity test facility at the StarShip Congress which took place in San Diego September 13 – 15. An interesting fact is that of all the surfaces of bodies in the solar system where humans may want to build settlements, all of them have gravity similar to the Moon and Mars. Thus gravity in the solar system is “quantized” to just these two levels simplifying the testing regime. Determining the prescription needed for human health in partial gravity is a critical path research topic needed for space settlement.
For Spacefaring Women: Medically Induced Amenorrhea
Until engineering solutions for artificial gravity in space habitats are validated, women who want to spend long periods of time in the microgravity environment of space will want options for suppressing menstruation and preventing conception . This article lays out an array of alternatives: