Baker, Tacey

Clement, Gilles

Gilbert, Charlene

NASA Technical Reports Server

Ar#ﬁcial	  Gravity	  	  for	  Protec#on	  of	  Human	  Health	  
during	  Long-­‐Dura#on	  Spaceﬂight	  
20th	  IAA	  Humans	  in	  Space	  Symposium	  
Prague	  –	  June	  30th,	  2015	  
Gilles	  Clement,	  Tacey	  Baker,	  &	  Charlene	  Gilbert	  
Wyle	  	  Science,	  Technology	  &	  Engineering	  Group	  
and	  NASA	  Johnson	  Space	  Center,	  Houston	  TX	  	  	  
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150013816 2019-08-31T07:35:34+00:00Z
2	  
Why	  Use	  Ar*ﬁcial	  Gravity?	  
•  NASA’s	  vision	  for	  space	  explora#on	  include	  scenarios	  that	  
would	  send	  humans	  beyond	  LEO	  for	  long	  dura#on	  periods.	  
•  Ar#ﬁcial	  gravity	  (AG),	  by	  reproducing	  the	  normal	  1G	  
environment,	  has	  the	  unique	  feature	  of	  protec#ng	  all	  
physiological	  systems	  in	  all	  individuals	  against	  the	  eﬀects	  of	  
weightlessness.	  
•  The	  selec#on	  of	  the	  ﬁnal	  health	  protec#ng	  countermeasure	  
suites	  should	  include	  considera#on	  for	  AG,	  not	  just	  
tradi#onal	  methods.	  
•  AG	  is	  feasible	  from	  an	  engineering	  aspect,	  but	  more	  
research	  is	  required	  to	  deﬁne	  the	  fundamental	  opera#ng	  
parameters	  for	  an	  AG	  countermeasure.	  
3	  
Standing	  in	  a	  Rota#ng	  Spacecra^	  
ω#
ω#
Standing	  on	  Earth	  
1 G#
1 G#
1 G#
r#
ω	  =	  4	  rpm	  
r	  =	  56	  m	  
AG	  =	  1	  G	  
4	  
Historical	  Concepts	  
Tsiolkovsky	  (1903)	  
Von	  Braun	  (1952)	  
Noordung	  (1928)	  
NASA	  LaRC	  (1962)	  
5	  
Human	  Risks	  of	  Spaceﬂight	  
Altered	  Gravity	  Level	  
•  Vision	  altera#ons	  
•  Renal	  stone	  forma#on	  
•  Sensorimotor	  altera#ons	  
•  Bone	  fracture	  
•  Impaired	  performance	  
•  Reduced	  aerobic	  capacity	  
•  Adverse	  health	  eﬀects	  
•  Urinary	  reten#on	  
•  Orthosta#c	  intolerance	  
•  Back	  pain	  
•  Cardiac	  rhythm	  problems	  
•  Eﬀects	  of	  medica.on	  
•  Intervertebral	  disk	  damage	  
Grouped	  by	  Hazards	  –	  30	  Risks	  &	  2	  Concerns	  
Radia*on	  
•  Exposure	  to	  space	  
radia#on	  
Distance	  from	  Earth	  
•  Limited	  in-­‐ﬂight	  
medical	  capabili#es	  
•  Toxic	  medica#ons	  
Isola*on	  
•  Adverse	  cogni#ve	  or	  
behavioral	  condi#ons	  
•  Performance	  &	  
behavioral	  health	  
decrements	  
Hos*le/Closed	  Environment–
SpacecraH	  Design	  
•  CO2	  exposure	  
•  Inadequate	  food/nutri#on	  
•  Inadequate	  human-­‐system	  
interac#on	  design	  
•  Injury	  from	  dynamic	  loads	  
•  Injury	  during	  EVA	  
•  Celes#al	  dust	  exposure	  
•  Altered	  immune	  response	  
•  Hypobaric	  hypoxia	  
•  Sleep	  loss	  &	  work	  overload	  
•  Decompression	  sickness	  
•  Toxic	  exposure	  
•  Hearing	  loss	  
•  Sunlight	  exposure	  
6	  
Human	  Risks	  of	  Spaceﬂight	  
Altered	  Gravity	  Level	  
•  Vision	  altera#ons	  
•  Renal	  stone	  forma#on	  
•  Sensorimotor	  altera#ons	  
•  Bone	  fracture	  
•  Impaired	  performance	  
•  Reduced	  aerobic	  capacity	  
•  Adverse	  health	  eﬀects	  
•  Urinary	  reten#on	  
•  Orthosta#c	  intolerance	  
•  Back	  pain	  
•  Cardiac	  rhythm	  problems	  
•  Eﬀects	  of	  medica.on	  
•  Intervertebral	  disk	  damage	  
Grouped	  by	  Hazards	  –	  30	  Risks	  &	  2	  Concerns	  
Radia*on	  
•  Exposure	  to	  space	  
radia#on	  
Distance	  from	  Earth	  
•  Limited	  in-­‐ﬂight	  
medical	  capabili#es	  
•  Toxic	  medica#ons	  
Isola*on	  
•  Adverse	  cogni#ve	  or	  
behavioral	  condi#ons	  
•  Performance	  &	  
behavioral	  health	  
decrements	  
Hos*le/Closed	  Environment–
SpacecraH	  Design	  
•  CO2	  exposure	  
•  Inadequate	  food/nutri#on	  
•  Inadequate	  human-­‐system	  
interac#on	  design	  
•  Injury	  from	  dynamic	  loads	  
•  Injury	  during	  EVA	  
•  Celes#al	  dust	  exposure	  
•  Altered	  immune	  response	  
•  Hypobaric	  hypoxia	  
•  Sleep	  loss	  &	  work	  overload	  
•  Decompression	  sickness	  
•  Toxic	  exposure	  
•  Hearing	  loss	  
•  Sunlight	  exposure	  
Risks	  poten#ally	  minimized	  by	  ar#ﬁcial	  gravity	  
7	  
Ar*ﬁcial	  Gravity	  (AG)	  Poten*al	  Beneﬁts	  
•  Current	  countermeasures	  address	  the	  debilita#ng	  
eﬀects	  of	  microgravity	  in	  a	  piece-­‐meal	  fashion.	  
Ar#ﬁcial	  gravity	  produces	  mul#-­‐system	  eﬀects.	  
•  Bejer	  to	  prevent	  issues	  rather	  than	  to	  apply	  
countermeasures	  a^er	  the	  fact.	  
•  AG	  reduces	  countermeasure	  requirements	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  
during	  transit	  and	  on	  planetary	  surface.	  
•  Aﬀects	  #ming	  of	  crew	  transfer	  to	  surface	  habitat,	  
lander	  sizing.	  
•  Rehabilita#on	  starts	  6	  months	  earlier	  than	  a	  non-­‐AG	  
mission,	  and	  is	  complete	  when	  crew	  returns	  to	  
Earth.	  
•  Lower	  development	  costs	  for	  items	  used	  only	  at	  1G.	  
Sullivan	  T	  (2014)	  
8	  
Vehicle	  Designers	  Concerns	  &	  Percep*on	  
•  Lack	  of	  deﬁni#ve	  design	  requirements,	  especially	  
acceptable	  ar#ﬁcial	  gravity	  levels	  and	  rota#on	  rates.	  
•  Percep#on	  of	  high	  vehicle	  mass	  and	  performance	  
penal#es.	  
•  Incompa#bility	  of	  resul#ng	  vehicle	  conﬁgura#ons	  with	  
space	  propulsion	  op#ons.	  
•  Percep#on	  of	  complica#ons	  associated	  with	  de-­‐spun	  
components	  such	  as	  antennae	  and	  photovoltaic	  arrays.	  
•  Expecta#on	  of	  eﬀec#ve	  crew	  microgravity	  
countermeasures.	  	  
Kamman	  et	  al.	  (2004)	  
9	  
Products	  Necessary	  to	  Resolve	  Open	  Ques*ons	  
•  The	  evidence	  base	  necessary	  to	  advise	  engineering	  designers	  
on	  op#mal	  radii,	  rota#on	  rates,	  angular	  accelera#ons,	  
centrifugal	  force,	  etc.	  to	  be	  used	  in	  designing	  rota#ng	  vehicles.	  
•  The	  evidence	  base	  necessary	  to	  devise	  op#mal	  prescrip#ons	  
for	  applica#on	  of	  short-­‐radius,	  intermijent	  AG,	  with	  and	  
without	  augmenta#on	  by	  exercise	  or	  other	  countermeasures.	  
•  The	  biomedical	  database	  necessary	  to	  fully	  characterize	  the	  
mul#system	  physiological	  consequences	  of	  long-­‐term	  exposure	  
to	  hypogravity	  environments	  expected	  during	  explora#on	  class	  
missions	  (0.16G,	  0.38G,	  and	  possibly	  other	  G-­‐levels).	  
•  The	  biomedical	  database	  necessary	  to	  fully	  characterize	  short	  
and	  long-­‐term,	  mul#system	  responses	  to	  transi#ons	  between	  
gravity	  levels.	  
Kamman	  et	  al.	  (2004)	  
10	  
NASA	  AG	  Project	  
•  Goal	  
–  Determine	  the	  design	  trade	  space	  associated	  with	  AG	  
for	  Mars	  missions	  vehicles	  and	  habitats.	  
•  Objec*ves	  
–  Implement	  an	  evidence-­‐based,	  peer-­‐reviewed,	  
coordinated	  R&D	  project	  to	  inves#gate	  AG.	  
–  Determine	  the	  op#mal	  design	  characteris#cs	  for	  a	  AG	  
countermeasure.	  	  
•  Milestone	  
–  Decision	  criteria	  whether	  AG	  can	  protect	  crew	  health	  
and	  performance	  during	  human	  deep	  space	  missions	  
expected	  NET	  2022.	  
11	  
Rota*on	  of	  part	  
of	  the	  vehicle	  
	  e.g.	  Nau#lus-­‐X	  
	  	  	  	  	  r	  =	  6	  m	  
	  	  	  	  	  ω	  =	  12	  rpm	  
On-­‐board	  centrifuge	  
e.g.	  AGREE	  
	  	  	  	  	  r	  =	  1.6	  m	  
	  	  	  	  	  ω	  =	  24	  rpm	  
Rota*on	  of	  the	  whole	  vehicle	  
e.g.	  Mars	  NTR	  
	  	  	  	  	  r	  =	  56	  m	  
	  	  	  	  	  ω	  =	  4	  rpm	  
12	  
1 G#
ω#
0.2 G# 2 G#
Short-­‐Radius	  Centrifuga#on	  in	  Space	  
13	  
0.2 G#
1 G#
2 G#
Short-­‐Radius	  Centrifuga#on	  in	  Space	  Standing	  on	  Earth	  
1 G#
1 G#
1 G#
14	  
1 G#
ω#
0.2 G# 2 G#
Short-­‐Radius	  Centrifuga#on	  in	  Space	  
1 G#
1 G#
ω#
0.2 G# 2 G#
1 G#1 G#
Short-­‐Radius	  Centrifuga#on	  on	  Earth	  
15	  
1.	   	  AG	  Level	  	  
–  G	  dose-­‐physiological	  response	  rela#onship	  
–  Humans,	  rats,	  cells	  
–  Ground-­‐based	  studies:	  
•  Bioreactor	  
•  Random	  Posi#oning	   	   	   	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  
Machine	  
•  Body	  Unloading	  
•  Centrifuga#on	  
•  Parabolic	  ﬂight	  
•  Computa#onal	  Models	  
AG	  Research	  Plan	  
16	  
2.	   	  AG	  Dura*on	  	  
–  Con#nuous	  rota#on	  
•  Large-­‐radius	  centrifuge	  /	  habitat	  
–  Intermijent	  rota#on	  
•  Short-­‐radius	  centrifuga#on	  
during	  bed	  rest	  /	  dry	  immersion	  
AG	  Research	  Plan	  (cont’d)	  
NASA	  ARC	  Rota.ng	  Habitat	  
Wyle	  IMAG	  short-­‐
radius	  centrifuge	  
17	  
3.	   	  Health	  Consequences	  of	  AG	  
–  Cross-­‐coupled	  &	  Coriolis	  
accelera#ons	  
•  Rota#ng	  chair	  
•  Slow	  Rota#on	  Room	  
–  Gravity	  gradient	  
•  Large-­‐radius	  centrifuge	  
–  Intracranial	  pressure	  
•  Large-­‐radius	  centrifuge	  
AG	  Research	  Plan	  (cont’d)	  
Brandeis	  University	  
slow	  rota.ng	  room	  
NASA	  ARC	  
centrifuge	  
18	  
4.	   	  Valida*on	  of	  AG	  Prescrip*on	  
–  Comparison	  between	  animal	  
centrifuga#on	  on	  the	  ground	  
and	  in	  space	  
–  Space	  opera#ons	  of	  a	  human	  
short-­‐radius	  centrifuge	  	  
–  Human	  centrifuge	  in	  space	  
AG	  Research	  Plan	  (cont’d)	  
Cosmos-­‐936	  rat	  centrifuge	  
AGREE	  ISS	  human	  centrifuge	   JAXA	  ISS	  mice	  centrifuge	  
19	  
AG	  Project	  Status	  
•  March	  2014	  –	  HRP	  approval	  to	  ini#ate	  the	  Ar#ﬁcial	  Gravity	  
project	  to	  develop	  evidence-­‐based	  recommenda#ons	  for	  or	  
against	  the	  use	  of	  AG	  in	  deep	  space	  transit	  vehicles	  by	  
2022.	  
•  September	  2014	  –	  Crea#on	  of	  Intern’l	  AG	  Working	  Group	  
as	  a	  sub-­‐group	  of	  the	  Interna#onal	  Countermeasure	  Group.	  
•  December	  2014	  –	  External	  AG	  Advisory	  Panel.	  
•  March	  2015	  –	  Evidence	  Report	  on	  Ar#ﬁcial	  Gravity.	  	  	  	  	  
Available	  at:	  hjp://www.xxx.xxx	  
•  May	  2015	  –	  Research	  Plan,	  in	  progress.	  	  
•  June	  2015	  –	  Project	  Management	  Plan,	  in	  review.	  
•  July	  2015	  –	  Research	  solicita#on.	  	  
20	  
Research	  Solicita*on	  
•  Website:	  NSPIRES?	  
•  Deadline:	  ?	  
•  Programma*c	  considera*ons	  
–  The	  PIs	  of	  the	  selected	  proposals	  will	  join	  a	  NASA-­‐led	  
transla.on	  and	  integra.ve	  research	  coordina.on	  team	  for	  
op#mizing	  outcomes	  of	  research	  and	  data	  sharing.	  
•  Mul*na*onal	  research	  par*cipa*on	  
–  ISS	  interna#onal	  partners	  are	  strongly	  encouraged	  to	  
par#cipate	  as	  co-­‐inves#gators.	  	  
	  


Artificial Gravity for Protection of Human Health During Long-Duration Spaceflight

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