Gravity - Revision history

RichardWSmith: /* Impact on plants */ Add link

2024-10-31T00:04:55Z

Impact on plants: Add link

RichardWSmith: /* Impact on humans */ Better described link.

2024-10-11T04:57:41Z

Impact on humans: Better described link.

RichardWSmith: /* Impact on humans */ Added link.

2024-09-20T13:08:05Z

Impact on humans: Added link.

Michel Lamontagne: /* Impact on humans */

2023-04-26T14:24:02Z

Impact on humans

RichardWSmith: /* Impact on physics and nature */ Added more impacts in this section and added links to this page.

2021-03-31T21:14:33Z

Impact on physics and nature: Added more impacts in this section and added links to this page.

RichardWSmith: Added link to Mars Direct. Discussion of spinning spacecraft for gravity.

2021-03-24T10:54:29Z

Added link to Mars Direct. Discussion of spinning spacecraft for gravity.

RichardWSmith: Added link to Low Gravity

2021-03-24T10:47:12Z

Added link to Low Gravity

RichardWSmith: /* Potential methods of preventing calcium loss */

2021-03-03T08:05:57Z

Potential methods of preventing calcium loss

RichardWSmith at 07:57, 3 March 2021

2021-03-03T07:57:00Z

RichardWSmith: Spin space craft to avoid zero gravity.

2021-03-03T07:56:38Z

Spin space craft to avoid zero gravity.

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 ==Impact on plants==
-*Plants have grown normally on the ISS and should grow on Mars.  The effect on their internal structure of the low gravity is unknown.
+*Plants have grown normally on the ISS and should grow on Mars.  The effect on their internal structure of the [[Low gravity]] is unknown.
 ==Impact on Settlement design==

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 The absence of gravity during interplanetary travel could also undermine the fitness of explorers or settlers to perform their jobs upon their arrival at Mars.  However, many Mars Missions (for example: [[Mars Direct]]) will spin the space craft on a long teether anchoring it to the expended third stage booster.  By varying the length of the cable and the speed of the spin, either Mars or Earth gravity can be provided while in deep space.
-See also [[Low gravity]] for more information.
+See also [[Low gravity]] for a way to mitigate this problem.
 ===Potential methods of preventing calcium loss===

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 20 September 2024
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	The absence of gravity during interplanetary travel could also undermine the fitness of explorers or settlers to perform their jobs upon their arrival at Mars. However, many Mars Missions (for example: [[Mars Direct]]) will spin the space craft on a long teether anchoring it to the expended third stage booster. By varying the length of the cable and the speed of the spin, either Mars or Earth gravity can be provided while in deep space.		The absence of gravity during interplanetary travel could also undermine the fitness of explorers or settlers to perform their jobs upon their arrival at Mars. However, many Mars Missions (for example: [[Mars Direct]]) will spin the space craft on a long teether anchoring it to the expended third stage booster. By varying the length of the cable and the speed of the spin, either Mars or Earth gravity can be provided while in deep space.
		+
		+	See also [[Low gravity]] for more information.

	===Potential methods of preventing calcium loss===		===Potential methods of preventing calcium loss===

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:24, 26 April 2023
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	If research identifies a specific gene as the regulator of low-gravity calcium loss, then a more refined version of this approach might be possible. Scientists could attempt to design a medication that targets this specific gene and holds its expression at the same level as it would be in Earth gravity.<ref>McCormack PD. (2005). Chronic health hazards in human space exploration. <nowiki>http://www.marspapers.org/paper/McCormack_2005.pdf</nowiki></ref>		If research identifies a specific gene as the regulator of low-gravity calcium loss, then a more refined version of this approach might be possible. Scientists could attempt to design a medication that targets this specific gene and holds its expression at the same level as it would be in Earth gravity.<ref>McCormack PD. (2005). Chronic health hazards in human space exploration. <nowiki>http://www.marspapers.org/paper/McCormack_2005.pdf</nowiki></ref>
		+
		+	Walking on Mars will be different from walking on Earth. Gait studies() have sown that the transition from walking to running would happen at a different speed than on Earth. The change in weight with the conservation of mass and inertia would change the angles required during cornering and for directional changes.

	==Impact on technology==		==Impact on technology==

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-[[Mars]] has a mass of 6,419 · 10<sup>23</sup> kg. Compared with [[Earth]] this is only a little bit more than a tenth. This results in a [[Low gravity|lower gravity]] as the planet is also less dense than Earth.
+[[Mars]] has a mass of 6,419 · 10<sup>23</sup> kg. Compared with [[Earth]] this is only a little bit more than a tenth. This results in a [[Low gravity|lower gravity]] as the planet is also less dense than Earth.  (Mars' surface is closer to the centre of the planet, so the surface gravity is 0.38 of Earth, not 1/10.)
 The gravitational acceleration is 3,71 m/s², compared to 9,81 m/s<sup>2</sup> on Earth. The resulting weight of any body on the surface of Mars is only a bit more than a third, compared with the same body on Earth.  Mass and inertia remain the same, however.
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 *The low gravity and lack of continental drift has allowed the growth of the highest mountain in the [[solar system]], e.g. [[Olympus Mons]].
 *A rock thrown on Mars will fly much further than on Earth.
 ==Impact on humans==
-The development of [[children|human embryos]] might be different. Also, the long term consequences for the health of human beings is unclear. Constant [[physical exercise]] has proven to be beneficial on the ISS to reduce calcium loss and maintain muscle mass.  However the difference between no gravity and low gravity is still unknown.
+The development of [[children|human embryos]] might be different. Also, the long term consequences for the health of human beings is unclear. Constant [[physical exercise]] has proven to be beneficial on the ISS to reduce calcium loss and maintain muscle mass.  However the difference between no gravity and [[Low gravity]] is still unknown.  A very useful experiment to run on the International Space Station would be to make a centrifuge with Mars' gravity inside, and see how plants and animals (mice perhaps) would react to living and reproducing in Mars' gravity, but so far, this experiment has never run.
 The absence of gravity during interplanetary travel could also undermine the fitness of explorers or settlers to perform their jobs upon their arrival at Mars.  However, many Mars Missions (for example: [[Mars Direct]]) will spin the space craft on a long teether anchoring it to the expended third stage booster.  By varying the length of the cable and the speed of the spin, either Mars or Earth gravity can be provided while in deep space.

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 ==Impact on Settlement design==
 [[File:Icedome Scene 6.jpg|thumb|600x600px]]
-For the 2019 Mars Society settlement design contest, Kent Nebergall proposed the [https://macroinvent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Eureka-Mars-Settlement-Concept.pdf Eureka] base design.  This design addresses most of the potential problems that might arise from lower gravity by building the settlement about a pair of rotating ring structures capable of simulating Earth gravity by centripetal force.  Usually planned for spaceships, artificial gravity using centripetal force could be implemented on Mars.
+For the 2019 Mars Society settlement design contest, Kent Nebergall proposed the [https://macroinvent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Eureka-Mars-Settlement-Concept.pdf Eureka] base design.  This design addresses most of the potential problems that might arise from [[Low gravity]] by building the settlement about a pair of rotating ring structures capable of simulating Earth gravity by centripetal force.  Usually planned for spaceships, artificial gravity using centripetal force could be implemented on Mars.
 The design<ref>https://macroinvent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Eureka-Mars-Settlement-Concept.pdf</ref> addresses a number of social and technological issues, as well as artificial gravity.

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 ===Potential methods of preventing calcium loss===
-It has been suggested that the trans-mars habitat have a long cable attached to the spent third stage booster to act as a counter mass.  By rotating the system, the astronauts would experience 1 gee for the duration of the trip to Mars.  This would render the problems of long duration zero gravity moot.
+It has been suggested that the trans-mars habitat have a long cable attached to the spent third stage booster to act as a counter mass.  By rotating the system, the astronauts would experience 1 gee for the duration of the trip to Mars.  This would render the problems of long duration zero gravity mission moot.
 If a zero gee mission IS chosen, then daily exercise appears to reduce, but not eliminate, calcium loss in a zero-gravity environment.  Two hours/day has limited calcium loss to 12%, and 4 hours/day limited it to 5%, during stays on Mir and the International Space Station.
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 *The pressure on bearings for the same service is lower, causing less friction and abrasion.  Or lighter bearings can be used.
-*A [[space elevator]] is easier to build.
+*A [[space elevator]] is easier to build.  (Mars' slightly longer day, & lower gravity makes a space elevator possible with current materials.)
 ==Impact on plants==

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:57, 3 March 2021
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−	[[Mars]] has a mass of 6,419 · 10<sup>23</sup> kg. Compared with [[Earth]] this is only a little bit more than a tenth. This results in a [[Low gravity\|~~low~~ gravity]] as the planet is also less dense than Earth.	+	[[Mars]] has a mass of 6,419 · 10<sup>23</sup> kg. Compared with [[Earth]] this is only a little bit more than a tenth. This results in a [[Low gravity\|lower gravity]] as the planet is also less dense than Earth.

	The gravitational acceleration is 3,71 m/s², compared to 9,81 m/s<sup>2</sup> on Earth. The resulting weight of any body on the surface of Mars is only a bit more than a third, compared with the same body on Earth. Mass and inertia remain the same, however.		The gravitational acceleration is 3,71 m/s², compared to 9,81 m/s<sup>2</sup> on Earth. The resulting weight of any body on the surface of Mars is only a bit more than a third, compared with the same body on Earth. Mass and inertia remain the same, however.