DESIGNING FOR FUTURE. SPACE FACILITIES FOR OPERATIONS UNDER DIFFERENT GRAVITY CONDITIONS

摘要

Varying gravity levels experienced by crews in space impose many special design, operations and adaptation requirements. Proper responses to these needs are essential to maintain health during long-term missions, ensure safe and productive performance, and optimize comfort and morale. Special challenges are to facilitate crew adaptation as they transfer between different gravity levels, and to design facilities that optimize use and comfort during long-term orbital missions and voyages to far destinations. This paper discusses special priorities for planning microgravity facilities in LEO, low-gravity accommodations on planetary surfaces, and artificial-gravity spacecraft for crew transport beyond the Earth-Moon system. Special requirements, and responses related to each are compared, and possible design solutions are proposed to: 1. Highlight design problems specific to different gravity circumstances; 2. Compare operational and performance advantages and disadvantages of different gravity environments; 3. Specify possible ways to optimize physical and psychological adaptation during long-term missions; 4. Identify general guidelines for space facilities design.