Ryan Marciniak, Msc. Astronomy, Planetarium Operator, Educator, Public Speaker, Entrepreneur
Oct 5, 2018
Physical Demands
- Bone loss (osteoporosis), corrected with exercise and medication
- Loss of muscle due to microgravity, 2-3 hours of exercise required daily
- Partial loss of vision
- Disrupted sleep cycle
- Overcoming 10G-15G force on take-off
- The feeling of weightlessness/nausea
- Use less energy in space because less resistance, need to sleep less
- Nose is often “stuffed up”, dehydration
Mental Health Issues
- Depression, boredom, loneliness
- Away from family, confined to a small space, very few people to interact with
- Demanding schedule
- Communication from Mars to Earth would have a twenty-minute delay
- Lack of privacy
Hygiene Issues
- Brushing teeth (swallowing the toothpaste or spitting into a towel)
- Washing yourself with a towel and dry shampoo for the hair; no shower in space
Other Issues
- 10X greater exposure to radiation while travelling in space (increased cancer risk?)
- Growing food in space; currently everything is freeze dried, dehydrated, brought from earth
- Water is scarce and re-used
- Everything floats away, Velcro is often used
- The 3D printer used to manufacturer parts required
Professor Regina Lee, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies & Professor Terry Sachlos, Associate Director of the Bergeron Entrepreneurs of Science and Technology Initiative
December 5, 2018
Challenges of Building in Space
- Extreme temperature variance and the possibility of thermal shock
- Extreme vibration on launch
- Radiation
Must Conduct a Risk Analysis of the Astrobrush
- What aspect of the product is most likely to fail?
- Need a plan to mitigate this risk
- Redundancy must be built into the elements of the Astrobrush to prevent catastrophic failure
- For example, there is a possibility that the Astrobrush can leak fluids or solids. Need to create a watertight lid to prevent this
- Need to consider if there is a limitation for how many uses the Astrobrush has
Need to consider what materials should be used to construct the Astrobrush considering that it will be operating in space.
- Low-outgassing materials should be used for spacecraft, as outgassing products can condense onto optical elements, thermal radiators, or solar cells and obscure them.
- Better to use Teflon and dry lubricants in space
Next Steps
- Draw what the Astrobrush would look like integrated into the Habitation module of the spacecraft or ISS
- Consider approach to heating the centrifuge to vaporize liquids. Thermal balance is an issue for anything heated in space
- We do not want to use too much energy in heating these fluids.
- Consider other non-space applications for the Astrobrush/centrifuge/aspiration. Mining application perhaps? Many things developed for space or military use are ultimately repurposed for common every day use.