Gravity... Hurts?

Paper number

IAC-05-A1.2.04

Author

Ms. Isabel Toro, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos - Polytechnical University of Madrid, Spain

Year

2005

Abstract

Nature is wise; at least this is what wise men say. This wisdom and millions of years of evolution have made human beings an extraordinary efficient and highly adapted specie to the medium we live on, the Earth, and more specifically the terrestrial surface.

      But, what happens if we put a specie out of its medium? What happens if we put a fish out of the water? and if we put a bird into it? The answer is always the same: Troubles, many troubles.

      The case of man in space (a medium the nature has not prepared us for) is exactly the same. Concretely, the diminution of the gravitational force, long duration trips and different levels of oxygen give rise to a series of problems that need to be faced, mainly: (1) Muscle atrophy, (2) bony mass loss, (3) blood volume diminution and (4) alterations of the balance sense. All these problems limit the time that a human being can be in space and therefore the scope of manned missions.

      The problems that arise as a consequence of the presence of a human being on space are not new. In fact, many scientific groups and space agencies have studied them for decades. As a consequence of this work, many solutions have been proposed that vary from external biofribilators to a wide spectrum of medicaments. Nevertheless, no one of them solves definitely the problem.

      In this paper, we analyse the consequences of life in space, a medium the nature has not prepared us for. We present some of the solutions proposed to date, the fundamentals they are based on and their strong and weak features.

      The paper is completed with the proposal of a low-cost/high-efficient solution to this problem based on magnetic fields.

      The results of this proposal (materialized in the development of a prototype) have been highly satisfactory.

Abstract document

IAC-05-A1.2.04.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-A1.2.04.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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