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Journalism of Courage
In films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Martian, imaginary spacecraft generate their own gravity by spinning around in space. This is artificial gravity, which so far as existed only in science fiction. Now, a team from the University of Colorado at Boulder is working on making such technology a reality.
The researchers are examining ways to design revolving systems that might fit within a room of future space stations and even moon bases. Astronauts could crawl into these rooms for just a few hours a day to get their daily doses of gravity, the university said in a statement.
The statement describes how lead researcher Torin Stark lay down on a metal platform, part of a machine called a short-radius centrifuge. The platform begins to rotate around the room, gathering more and more speed. The angular velocity generated by the centrifuge pushes Clark’s feet toward the base of the platform — almost as if he was standing under his own weight. The university described this as is the closest that scientists on Earth can get to how artificial gravity in space might work.
The group hopes that its work will one day help keep astronauts healthy as they venture into space, allowing humans to travel farther from Earth than ever before and stay away longer. —Source: University of Colorado at Boulder
