HUMANS may soon be living on the Moon thanks to a newly-developed gravity substitute – here’s what you need to know.
Researchers from Kyoto University and Kajima Corporation revealed mockups of a rotating moon base at a conference last week.
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The space structure is 1,300 feet tall and features glass walls and a water-covered interior, per DNYUZ.
Most notably, the moon base dubbed “The Glass” will come equipped with artificial gravity.
This pseudo-gravity effect is achieved using a centrifugal rotation technique that sees The Glass complete a full rotation every 20 seconds.
According to the researchers, Earth-like gravity is imperative to human survival as an interplanetary species.
“Without gravity, mammals might not be able to reproduce and their babies might not develop well,” the team explained in a Google-translated report.
“When a person grows under a zero or low gravity environment, their body would change so they wouldn’t be able to stand up on Earth.”
Similarly, by creating a gravity effect for space structures, humans could theoretically return to Earth at any time, the researchers noted.
Beyond the proposed Moon base, experts also hope to develop artificial-gravity structures for planets such as Mars, and even a transportation system for interplanetary travel.
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A working prototype of The Glass is expected to be unveiled by 2050, according to a local Japanese paper, Asahi Shimbum.
An ‘original’ idea
The notion of artificial gravity for space living is “a completely original idea from Japan,” said Yosuke Yamashiki, a professor at Kyoto University’s SIC Manned Cosmology Research Center.
“The core technologies are not being developed by other countries, and they’re indispensable for realizing human space migration.”
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“Developing an artificial gravity residential facility with Kyoto University will be a watershed moment in space research,” Takuya Ohno, an architect and researcher at Kajima, emphasized.
“We will work to make this joint research meaningful for humankind.”
