ARCHITECTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN OPTIMIZED RADIATION SHIELDING DESIGN FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS

NewSpace bears all the hallmarks of past revolutions in technology. Since we have other examples of exponential growth of specific technologies, we should maximize the economic and engineering potential of this movement by expanding the envelopes for long term crewed habitats in deep space. We should also take an approach that minimizes waste in both design and fabrication as these bases expand. This paper provides a systematic approach to habitats optimized for volume, radiation protection, crew psychology, reusability, affordability, crowd-sourced subsystem design, and expansion. These habitats and systems are designed to be as “future proof” as possible to allow rapid and safe technological advancement within the structures. One of major “showstoppers” of human space exploration is cosmic and solar events radiation. It is a serious problem that may cause cancer and other types of tissue damage and equipment malfunction. It has to be addressed in space vehicles design especially for long-term space exploration missions and future Moon or Mars surface settlements. This paper discusses a unique layered system incorporated into a habitat structure, which may help to reduce the radiation hazard to the crew and interior equipment and systems. The paper also argues that a successful mitigation of radiation impact on human health should be based on a multidisciplinary methodology that also includes psychophysiological approach to the problem. Multiple techniques and practices to minimize psychological stress that may suppress immune system and reduce resistance to cancer, are presented and compared. Conclusions are drawn upon results of those comparisons and a multidisciplinary design concept is proposed to be applied both in long-duration human space exploration missions and in radioactive environment on Earth

PRACTICAL DESIGN EXAMPLES FOR HUMAN HABITATS IN SPACE, OFF-GRID, AND IN LOW-IMPACT COMMUNITIES

All human habitat problems fall into three major categories- the environment, the habitat itself, and the occupants. By breaking these problems down into common themes and addressing them directly, we can build a common knowledge base for all three challenges faced by humanity. A crew living in space has the new problems of coping with radiation, microgravity, and vacuum. All the while, they are dealing the usual issues of eating, sleeping, and getting along with the rest of the occupants. By isolating the differences between space and earth habitats, we can create common architectural styles for each human habitat challenge where commonality is appropriate. We can then examine the differences, then isolate and modularize the secondary systems where possible. This simplifies experimentation and testing of the physical and psychological design of a structure on Earth prior to attempting use in space. It also allows spin-off architectures for extreme environments, off-grid settlements, research bases, and low impact communities on Earth. By isolating and testing each attribute of the system in parallel with control groups, we can scientifically refine the systems for human shelter regardless of environment. This paper will show numerous examples of architectures designed for space or space analog research bases. These designs can be both de-scoped to off-grid sustainable architecture, and scoped up for space habitat applications. Concepts such as internal greenhouses, enclosed permaculture, thermal protection, energy management, and radiation shielding are included for both minimal habitats and large bases. These systems can then be applied for disaster first responders, research bases in extreme environments, o-grid homes, and low-impact communities

The influence of malalignment and ageing following sterilisation by gamma irradiation in an inert atmosphere on the wear of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene in patellofemoral replacements

Complications of patellofemoral arthroplasty often occur soon after implantation and, as well as other factors, can be due to the design of the implant or its surgical positioning. A number of studies have previously considered the wear of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene patellae following suboptimal implantation; however, studies have primarily been carried out under a limited number of degrees of freedom. The aim of this study was to develop a protocol to assess the wear of patellae under a malaligned condition in a six-axis patellofemoral joint simulator. The malalignment protocol hindered the tracking of the patella centrally in the trochlear groove and imparted a constant 5 external rotation (tilt) on the patella button. Following 3 million cycles of wear simulation, this condition had no influence on the wear of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene patellae aged for 4 years compared to well-positioned non-aged implants (p . 0.05). However, under the malaligned condition, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene patellae aged 8–10 years after unpacking (following sterilisation by gamma irradiation in an inert atmosphere) and worn ultra-high-molecularweight polyethylene components also aged 4 years after unpacking (following the same sterilisation process) exhibited a high rate of wear. Fatigue failure due to elevated contact stress led to delamination of the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene and in some cases complete failure of the patellae. The results suggest that suboptimal tracking of the patella in the trochlear groove and tilt of the patella button could have a significant effect on the wear of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene and could lead to implant failure

A comparison of injury rates in organised sports, with special empahsis on American bull riding

Ye

Existing and new proposals of Space analog, off-grid and sustainable habitats with Space applications

All human habitat problems fall into three major categories – the environment, the habitat itself, and the occupants. By breaking these problems down into common themes and addressing them directly, we can build a common knowledge base for all three challenges faced by humanity. A crew living in space has the new problems of coping with radiation, microgravity, and vacuum. Meanwhile, they are dealing with the usual issues of eating, sleeping, and getting along with the rest of the occupants. By isolating the differences between space and earth habitats, we can create common architectural approaches for each human habitat challenge where commonality is appropriate. We can then examine the differences, and finally isolate and modularize the secondary systems where possible. This simplifies experimentation and testing of the physical and psychological design of a structure on Earth prior to attempting to use it in space. It also allows spin-off architectures for extreme environments, off-grid settlements, research bases, and low-impact communities on Earth with applications for self-sustainable building. This paper will show numerous examples of architectures designed for space or space-analog research bases. These designs can be both descoped to off-grid sustainable architecture, and scoped up for space habitat applications. Concepts such as internal greenhouses, enclosed permaculture, thermal protection, energy management, and radiation shielding are included for both minimal habitats and large bases. These systems can be applied for disaster first responders, research bases in extreme environments, off-grid homes, and low-impact communities. Examples of these applications are also presented in this paper with a series of projects developed by the authors