TY - GEN
T1 - MARCUS
T2 - 59th International Astronautical Congress 2008, IAC 2008
AU - Pearson, Jerome
AU - Levin, Eugene
AU - Carroll, Joseph
AU - Oldson, John
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - MARCUS is a lightweight, free-flying, artificial gravity spacecraft that can be launched into LEO as a secondary payload. It avoids the gravity gradients and Coriolis effects of spinning spacecraft by rotating two animal enclosure capsules on a smart electrodynamic tether several kilometers long. If the ends have a mass ratio of ∼7:3, one capsule can experience lunar gravity and the other Martian gravity. Depending on life support requirements, the capsules could house several white mice for weeks or months. The smart tether controls the rotation rate and gravity, and also transfers the system into orbits closely duplicating radiation conditions on the Moon or Mars. The capsules can be released on command with the proper velocity and trajectory to cause controlled re-entries. Heat shields and parachutes can then be used to allow gentle mid-air helicopter recovery of the live animals, allowing direct comparison with control animals on the ground. The technology, spacecraft, and method of operation are described. MARCUS would allow filling in the data gap between 0-g and 1-g, which ground-based centrifuges cannot do. The robotic spacecraft could also be operated cheaply, without depending on the limited resources of the ISS.
AB - MARCUS is a lightweight, free-flying, artificial gravity spacecraft that can be launched into LEO as a secondary payload. It avoids the gravity gradients and Coriolis effects of spinning spacecraft by rotating two animal enclosure capsules on a smart electrodynamic tether several kilometers long. If the ends have a mass ratio of ∼7:3, one capsule can experience lunar gravity and the other Martian gravity. Depending on life support requirements, the capsules could house several white mice for weeks or months. The smart tether controls the rotation rate and gravity, and also transfers the system into orbits closely duplicating radiation conditions on the Moon or Mars. The capsules can be released on command with the proper velocity and trajectory to cause controlled re-entries. Heat shields and parachutes can then be used to allow gentle mid-air helicopter recovery of the live animals, allowing direct comparison with control animals on the ground. The technology, spacecraft, and method of operation are described. MARCUS would allow filling in the data gap between 0-g and 1-g, which ground-based centrifuges cannot do. The robotic spacecraft could also be operated cheaply, without depending on the limited resources of the ISS.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77950497679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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AN - SCOPUS:77950497679
SN - 9781615671601
T3 - International Astronautical Federation - 59th International Astronautical Congress 2008, IAC 2008
SP - 561
EP - 568
BT - International Astronautical Federation - 59th International Astronautical Congress 2008, IAC 2008
Y2 - 29 September 2008 through 3 October 2008
ER -