Parameters determining neurovestibular adaptation to short-radius artificial gravity.
- Paper number
IAC-05-A1.2.08
- Author
Dr. Thomas Jarchow, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Laurence R. Young, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The numerous debilitating effects of long duration weightlessness can be attacked at their roots by providing a gravity equivalent force. Such stimulation can easily be achieved by spinning the astronaut. Artificial gravity (AG) could be achieved by intermittent short radius centrifugation (radius of about 3m). On such a centrifuge, spinning with rotation rates between 20rpm and 30rpm produces in excess of 1g in the subject's body. Combining AG exposure with exercise would allow the astronaut to go for a "spin in the gym". While spinning at such rotation rates any head movements out of the plane of the rotation leads to unexpected and disturbing Coriolis forces and cross-coupled angular stimulation of the canals; -- and this may cause motion sickness and disorientation in naïve and untrained subjects. Previous studies in the Man Vehicle Lab have shown that after two 1-hour training sessions most subjects adapt to head turns while spinning at 23rpm (138º/s). The ongoing research addresses the questions of optimizing the adaptation schedule, of determining the crucial parameters leading to adaptation (such as direction and amount of the head turns), and of building a comprehensive model of the vestibular system. Acknowledgements: Supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC 9-58.
- Abstract document