Engineering the next giant leap for mankind

摘要

Hailed as one of man's greatest achievements, the first moon landing catalysed efforts to venture further into space. However, if we are to travel further we will need to better understand and overcome the biological challenges of long term space travel. The BAMMsat project aims to enable biological research that will uncover these threats and better understand the effects spaceflights can have on astronauts as they travel beyond the International Space Station to deep space destinations such as the moon and Mars. The next major milestone is a manned mission to Mars, which NASA estimates will be achievable in the 2030s. Space exploration pushes the boundaries of science and technology, as well as the limits of the human body, so before we are able to send astronauts further into space, we need to expand our knowledge of the resulting long term effects of microgravity and high radiation on the human body - how will the body react to long duration space flight and what physical programmes and standards need to be put in place?