Benefits and Approaches of Artificially Inducing Gravity in Deep Space Habitats Utilizing Torpor

摘要

SpaceWorks Enterprises, under a research grant with NASA's STMD and NIAC program, has been advancing the idea and technology to place astronauts in a medically-induced hypothermic state during the transit phases of deep-space missions. This capability offers multiple mission-level advantages from both an engineering and medical perspective. To date, the crew has primarily been assumed to reside in a microgravity environment for the duration of the mission. However, with the crew in an inactive state, the use of artificial-gravity can be enabled as many of the design constraints that have been established for these systems are eliminated. This paper will examine "traditional" artificial-gravity designs based on human-factor criteria for an active crew and compare against one novel design concept incorporating inactive, torpor crews. The engineering impacts, in terms of total mission mass, will be addressed and quantified. An assessment of the attitude control system options, either chemical and/or electric, for spin-up and spin-down, with considerations for emergency scenarios, will also be conducted.