UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN

IN BRIEF

In order to keep astronauts active in zero-gravity conditions, a horizontal treadmill has been developed to combat the plethora of deleterious effects of being in space.
As space travel is becoming easier and more economical, the number of people in space will be growing in the coming years. Making their stays healthier will undoubtedly help in their goals.

The large Hoover-like device seals around the astronaut’s waist, creating the impression of weight on the lower body through a powerful suction force.

The large vacuum cleaner-like device seals around the astronaut’s waist, creating the impression of weight on the lower body through a powerful suction force.

Photograph: Alan Hargens

THE NEW SPACE WORKOUT

Being in space for extended lengths of time can place a great deal of physical stress on an astronaut’s body. The weightlessness associated with lack of gravity can cause health issues such as skeletal deterioration, back pain, and fluid collection in the upper body. Readapting to the conditions on Earth places even further stress and pressure on the lower body. To counteract these risks and improve overall health, scientists have invented a ‘space suction device’ that allows astronauts to exercise at their normal body weight.

It’s called the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) device, and its purpose is to create an ‘artificial form of gravity.’ The device itself creates a seal around the person’s waist, giving the sensation of weight on the lower body. A diagram of the device shows the astronaut resting with their back on a support structure, while running on what is, essentially, a vertical treadmill.

Photograph: John Charles/Watenpaugh et al

Regarding long-distance space missions such as those to Mars, these rehabilitative exercises are required to prevent chronic health conditions. “Crews get very little of this type of loading so their butts and feet are hypersensitive to touch after six to twelve months in space,” stated Alan Hargens, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of California, San Diego, who was responsible for co-developing the LBNP device.

The efficacy of the apparatus was tested during a trial involving 15 sets of identical twins. The experiment lasted for 28 days, where both sets of twins laid horizontally in bed. One set of twins did not exercise, while the others exercised using the LBNP mechanism for 40 minutes a day. After the trial had been completed, the results showed a substantial decrease in back muscle strength within the non-exercise group.

If successfully implemented, Hargens’ vision for the machine in the future would be to include a virtual environment that would allow astronauts to exercise while walking on the beach or in the mountains. A more compact version of the device was also mentioned for the possibility of prolonged Mars missions.

LINK to Space suction device in action

https://youtu.be/d3-pjxCl_AY

THE DOWNFALLS OF EXTENDED SPACE TRAVEL

Other space agencies have taken to the test and developed this more compact version for space travel. Roscosmos State Corporation of Russia fabricated and tested their Chibis Suit aboard the International Space Station (ISS), although it could not be used for exercising. The China National Space Administration also invented their own suit that allows users to perform squats inside the compressible tube. Unfortunately, such mechanisms are nearly weightless in space and could cause injury to astronauts. For extended space travel to Mars, for example, these could not prove worthwhile. Even with an LBNP device onboard for Mars missions, there would be no medical facilities on the planet that could assist with physical rehabilitation.

Hargens and his colleagues seem confident in the long-term effectiveness of their apparatus onboard long transits. The next big hurdle is in convincing the space agencies to support their idea.

The Chinese space agency’s version of a vacuum suit. By doing squats the astronaut pumps the device up and down creating their own vacuum.

Photograph: Watenpaugh et al

IN BRIEF

The vast distances between us and other points of particular interest in space are vast, and the speed limitations of our technology are a significant barrier to exploration.
NASA's DEEP-IN program is working toward a new propulsion system that can get us to Mars in only three days.

RIDING TO THE PLANETS ON A BEAM OF LIGHT

The clever girls and boys at NASA are always dreaming up new ways to circumvent the biggest obstacle to effective space travel: the speed barrier. Space is big, as you might have heard—and it takes a long time to get around.

It’s about three days to the Moon, which isn’t too bad; but Mars is another story altogether. With current methods of chemical rocket propulsion—the same that have been used for some three-quarters of a century—a voyage to the Red Planet would take about five months.

But a team of NASA scientists, headed by Philip Lubin of the University of California, Santa Barbara, have envisioned a different means of getting about space—one that requires nothing more than a beam of light. Called “photonic propulsion,” it requires little more than a solar sail of ultralight material, which is pushed along by energy beamed from an orbital laser array.

A solar sail. By NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Lubin’s team was awarded a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) grant, to the tune of $100,000, to begin the planning and testing phase of the project. It is being called—with a typically NASA-esque acronymic flair (though in this case to a somewhat unfortunate effect)—Directed Energy Propulsion for Interstellar Exploration (DEEP-IN).

The idea is to yoke a small probe to a solar sail, orbit a laser array, and push the probe toward its destination at speeds far in excess of anything we can attain these days. Lubin estimates a probe weighing only a few hundred pounds could be accelerated to Mars using this method in just three days. Scale the technology up from unmanned probes to manned vessels (no mean feat), and we could be talking about a journey to Mars in a month—one-fifth of the travel time via conventional techniques.

NEW PATHS TO THE STARS

As we begin to seriously prepare for our first journey to Mars, there’s been a flurry of research into novel propulsion methods to help get us there. One very promising avenue leads to the VASIMR nuclear electric thruster, which opens up the possibility of a journey to the Red Planet in only 40 days. The technology is still in development, and has some key challenges—most notably building a space-capable nuclear reactor to power the engine array—but it seems to be one of the most immediately realizable technologies for fast interplanetary travel.

Other ideas have been mooted, including Charles Bombardier’s somewhat fanciful Solar Express concept, which could—theoretically—reach something like 1% of the speed of light. The peculiar “EM drive,” meanwhile, still makes headlines; although, barring a significant contravention of the laws of physics, it seems destined to follow cold fusion into the dustbin of scientific history.

So it seems photonic propulsion is one of the better options we currently have. If the technology can be scaled up and made to endure the rigors of frequent space travel, it might just be our best hope for colonizing the Solar System; when it comes to reaching for the stars, it might just be the only option we have for a very long time.