4.　International Roadmap for Artificial Gravity Research

合同ワークショップ 2

「Post-ISS, Moon Base or Martian Expedition」

Gilles R. Clement

KBRwyle Science, Technology and Engineering Group, Houston, Texas, USA

Artificial gravity （AG） is an alternative health protective countermeasure for mitigating the deconditioning effects of weightlessness on humans during long-duration space missions.　Research on AG is an integrative approach including physiological, behavioral, and human factor aspects.　It is also a multidisciplinary effort where space physiologists, crew surgeons, astronauts, vehicle designers, and mission planners need to review, evaluate, and discuss the issues for incorporating AG technologies into the vehicle design.　Commitments by spacecraft designers to implement AG will only come following acceptance of a well-argued requirement from the aerospace medicine community.
　AG during centrifugation can be adjusted by varying the rotation rate of the spacecraft/centrifuge or the distance of the habitat/crewmember relative to the axis or rotation.　These AG parameters have an impact on vehicle design and on operations.　Questions that will need answers are:（a） what evidence do we have to support the requirement for AG on board a spacecraft for a long-duration mission;（b） what design parameters would we levy upon the engineers;and （c） what prescriptions （G level, duration, frequency） would we recommend to the crewmembers? Recommendations must also be provided regarding the additional complementary countermeasures to ensure human health and performance of long-duration crewmembers.　These questions must be answered before the design of the spacecraft and mission is completed.
　Representatives of NASA, ESA, and the space agencies of Canada, France, Japan, Germany, and Russia have developed and periodically update an international AG research plan.　This roadmap contains a common set of goals, objectives, and milestones from the current research plans of each of the participating agencies.　It includes both current and future activities in AG research, and provides a framework that facilitates the opportunities for collaboration using the full range of available AG facilities worldwide.