Artificial gravity considerations for a mars exploration mission.
Artificial gravity (AG), as a means of preventing physiological deconditioning of astronauts during long-duration space flights, presents certain special challenges to the otolith organs and the adaptive capabilities of the CNS. The key issues regarding the choice of AG acceleration, radius, and rotation rate are reviewed from the viewpoints of physiological requirements and human factors disturbances. Head movements and resultant Coriolis forces on the rotating platform may limit the usefulness of economical short centrifuges for other than brief periods of intermittent stimulation.
Young
L R
LR
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA. lry@mit.edu
D000337:Aerospace Medicine / Q000379:methods; D018470:Gravity, Altered; D006801:Humans; D013026:Space Flight; D018531:Spacecraft