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from the is-dark-matter-like-dark-energon dept.
The Conversation has a story about five key findings from 15 years of the International Space Station:
1. The fragility of the human body — there is considerable loss of strength and bone mass without intervention. Mitigating this is key to making it possible to have manned trips to mars.
2. Interplanetary contamination — spores of Bacillus subtilis were exposed to space upon the ISS (but shielded from solar UV radiation). "The space vacuum and temperature extremes alone were not enough to kill them off."
3. Growing crystals for medicine — "Crystals in a microgravity environment may be grown to much larger sizes than on Earth, enabling easier analysis of their micro-structure. Protein crystals grown on the ISS are being used in the development of new drugs for diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cancer."
4. Cosmic rays and dark matter — early results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) support the theory that a halo of dark matter surrounds the Milky Way.
5. Efficient combustion — flames burn more efficiently in space with much less soot produced. Understanding this may lead to more efficient combustion in vehicles.
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Friday January 01 2016, @01:53AM
I like #3, but for #1, how about an artificial gravity module?
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 01 2016, @02:30AM
Well, I sat here trying to think of some reply to that. I had something going along the lines of patents, and decided to google gravity patents. Then I did anti-gravity. Geez, you ain't going to believe it, but the patent trolls are all over this.
https://www.google.com/?tbm=pts#safe=off&tbm=pts&q=anti-gravity [google.com]
Obviously, not one of those damned fools have built anything, or they'd have sold it for zillions by now. Put antigravity under you favorite easy chair or recliner, and travel anywhere. You don't need pavement, don't need tires every 18 months, just keep the batteries charged, and float where you want. All I see are patent trolls, staking a claim against anyone who does invent an anti-gravity unit.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 01 2016, @02:52AM
Wow.
And I meant this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_wheel_space_station [wikipedia.org]
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(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 01 2016, @05:19AM
Obvious, but maybe not obvious how much more expensive that would be compared to the current shack.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 01 2016, @06:06AM
Filed under "eh, might as well"
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(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Friday January 01 2016, @03:50PM
If it's a difference between doing a mission and not doing it at all, the expense is not a factor. Rocket fuel to orbit is expensive too.
(Score: 1) by Some call me Tim on Friday January 01 2016, @06:10AM
An artificial gravity ring is much easier to build in from the start. I can envision an add on that would attach to an airlock but it would be a pain in the a$$ to do. You'd have to attach it at the nadir airlock to avoid the solar panels and have a pass through airlock so as not to lose the one at nadir. I really don't understand why the ISS wasn't a wheel design from the start. You get gravity areas for occupant health and micro gravity areas for research.
Questioning science is how you do science!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 01 2016, @06:31AM
From the link I posted: [wikipedia.org]
Russia plans to detach some of its ISS modules in the 2020s to make a new space station [wikipedia.org]. However with $150 billion sunk into ISS there will be calls to keep it alive. One way to do that is to put an ion engine [wikipedia.org] on it to help stabilize the orbit at a lower cost:
If ISS can persist as a platform indefinitely due to lower ongoing costs, and lower launch costs (due to SpaceX and other new players) for replacement modules, maybe a ring module can be added. One way to lower module costs would be to use inflatable modules [wikipedia.org]. Possibly applicable to a rotating ring, and definitely a way to provide more volume on the ISS for less money. Laser systems can be used to deorbit space debris.
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(Score: 1) by Some call me Tim on Friday January 01 2016, @06:49AM
Not sure what I did, but 90% of my previous comment vanished. I'll blame the beer. I like the idea of the inflated modules for a ring, far less mass to move which means less energy to maintain orbit and the same for rotation. They really need a small reactor for power to get rid of the solar panels. Those things are in the way of expansion and need to go if NASA has any plans of keeping the station beyond 2020.
Questioning science is how you do science!
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Friday January 01 2016, @03:55PM
Doesn't even have to be a wheel. Just a stick spinning along its center would do, with gravity increasing the further away from the center you get. Conservation of angular momentum really doesn't care about the shape of the spinning object. Of course there would be changes in rotation as people/equipment are moved closer to/further from the center but this can be easily compensated by pumping fuel/water supplies in the opposite direction, etc. Plus if the station weighs a few orders of magnitude more than what you're trying to move, such changes in velocity would be minimal anyway and might not need to be compensated at all.