Interest in the moon was rekindled lately, and Japan wants to join in the fun. Researchers and engineers from Kyoto University and the Kajima Corporation has released their joint proposal for a three-pronged approach to sustainability person Life on the Moon and Beyond.
The future of space exploration will likely involve extended stays in low-gravity environments, whether in orbit or on another planet’s surface. The problem is, lLong stays in space can have devastating effects on our physiology; youngest research shows that astronauts can experience a decade of bone loss during months in space and that their bones will never return to normal. Luckily, researchers at Kyoto University and Kajima Corporation are looking into a possible solution.
The proposal announced in a press release last week, looks like something ripped straight from the pages of a sci-fi novel. The plan consists of three different elements, the first of which, called “The Glass“ aims to bring simulated gravity into the moon and Mars by centrifugal force.
Gravity on the Moon and Mars is about 16.5% and 37.9% of the earth. Lunar Glass and Mars Glass could fill this gap; They are massive, spinning cones that use centrifugal force to simulate the effects of Earth’s gravity. These spinning cones have an approximate radius of 100 meters (328 feet) and a height of 400 meters (1,312 feet) and complete one rotation every 20 seconds, creating a 1g experience for those inside (1g is gravity ). on earth). The researchers are targeting the second half of the 21st century for the construction of Lunar Glass, which seems unduly optimistic given the apparent technological know-how required to make that happen.
The second element of the plan is the “core biome complex” to “relocate a reduced ecosystem to space,” according to a Google-translated version of the press release. The core biome complex would exist within the lunar/Martian glass Structure and that’s where the human explorers would live, the proposal went. TThe last element of the proposal is the “Hexagon Space Track” or Hexatrack, a high-speed transportation infrastructure that could connect Earth, Mars, and the Moon. Hexatrack needs at least three different stations, one on the Martian moon Phobos, one in Earth orbit and one around the moon (probably the planned one moongate).
The journey back to the moon is getting closer while interest to settle down Mars is growing. A major obstacle to long-term stays on these bodies is gravity. The proposal from Kyoto University and Kajima Corporation is exciting and promising, but we shouldn’t expect it any time soon.
More: NASA’s CAPSTONE probe is officially on its way to the moon