Kyoto University and Kajima Corp. Joint Study on the Feasibility of an Artificial Gravity Residential Facilities on the Moon —A Step Towards Realizing Artificial Gravity Residential Facilities—
Outline
Kyoto University (SIC Human Spaceology Center and related departments (Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate School of Science, Disaster Prevention Research Institute)) and the Kajima Corporation (President: Hiromasa Amano) have begun a joint research project toward implementing an artificial gravity habitat on the Moon.
The joint research project was announced in 2022 and titled “Artificial Gravity Facilities for Living on the Moon and Mars: Joint Research by Kyoto University and Kajima.” The research established and developed three basic concepts necessary for space habitation (artificial gravity, a reduced ecosystem, and an artificial gravity transportation system). Subsequently, the project gained a great deal of domestic and international influence, and the need for full-scale research to enhance the feasibility of these concepts was recognized. Therefore, in this joint project, instead of conceptual research, there will be research conducted on the structural feasibility, construction feasibility, habitability, evaluation of effects on the human body, and establishment of a closed ecosystem (mini-core biome) for future implementation of an artificial gravity habitat on the Moon. The goal is also to lead to the beginnings of implementation on Earth.
Lunar Glass NEO – the Lunar Artificial Gravity Residential Facility (Image: Takuya Ono Kajima Corporation)
Interior View of Lunar Glass NEO – the Lunar Artificial Gravity Residential Facility (Image: Takuya Ono, Kajima Corporation)
Lunar Glass NEO – (Movie, Concept: Takuya Ono, Kajima Corporation, Music: Princess of Neptune – Yosuke Alexandre Yamashiki)
１．Background
As the idea of life in space becomes more realistic, we have started to consider the problems in low-gravity environments such as the lunar surface. In addition to bone and muscle weakness, there are concerns about the effects of low-gravity environments on blood and other body fluid circulation, brain atrophy, and adverse effects on the optic nerve. Therefore, Kyoto University and the Kajima Corporation announced “Lunar Glass” in 2022, an artificial gravity habitat facility on the Moon, which demonstrates how to solve the problem of low gravity on celestial bodies with unique architecture. Lunar Glass is gaining attention in Japan and abroad, especially in the medical community. In addition, since the use of hypergravity facilities on the Earth may lead to health improvements, such as fighting off osteoporosis, a full-scale study has begun to implement an artificial gravity facility in Japan, the first in the world.
The SIC Human Spaceology Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, has three core concepts depicted as the minimum requirements for space habitation: core society, core technologies, and core biome. Artificial gravity facilities are outlined as the most important core technology.
Several types of artificial gravity facilities in space have previously been proposed, but the Kajima Corporation has applied for a patent for a habitat on the surface of a planet, which has unique features.
２．Research Objectives and Expected Outcomes
The following are the three objectives and the expected results of this joint research.
ⅰ．Confirmation of the Feasibility of an Artificial Gravity Habitat
This project will be the first in the world to study the feasibility of the “Lunar Artificial Gravity Habitat (Lunar Glass).” which has gained attention from space and medical fields, as well as examine its structural feasibility and construction methods. This will expand the possibility of space habitation and implement the same level of gravity on the Moon and Mars as on Earth, thereby preventing the division of humans and enabling a permanent and peaceful entry into space.
ⅱ．Confirmation of the Feasibility of a Closed Ecosystem (Mini-Core Biome)
The purpose of this project is to gain knowledge that will lead to solutions to environmental problems on Earth by researching issues unique to space and establishing a resource cycle that can be initiated in a closed environment. By pursuing the minimum conditions necessary to maintain ecosystems in a closed environment where no external resource supply is available, we expect to develop technologies that can be utilized for space habitation and global environmental conservation in the future.
ⅲ．Confirmation of the Feasibility of Hypergravity Facilities on Earth
A unique challenge will be the rotating hypergravity facility on Earth, which will be implemented as a proof of concept. The bowl-shaped facility will be a future lunar habitat. If an artificial gravity facility on Earth can be created, it can be used as a health promotion facility for osteoporosis control.
GEOGLASS, a hypergravity facility on Earth (Image: Yosuke A. Yamashiki, SIC Human Spaceology Center, GSAIS, Kyoto University)
３．Implications, Future Plans
There are many challenges in implementing an artificial gravity habitat. However, setting a goal with an ideal concept will provide an opportunity for exchange among various fields to solve the issues. In addition, by studying the establishment of an ecosystem in the facility, the importance of the global environment can be reaffirmed and contribute to the construction of a sustainable society that encompasses extraterrestrial space.
The following specific conditions will be finalized and verified for feasibility in order, to implement an artificial gravity habitat.
- Construction will use local materials and environments such as low gravity, and remote-controlled construction.
- Construction will be studied by examining the feasibility of the structure against gravity, centrifugal force, and atmospheric pressure of the celestial body as a structural issue to construct a closed, habitable space in a lunar environment.
- The facility will rotate, and its habitability must be confirmed. The appropriate centrifugal force environment (radius, number of revolutions, and combined force) from a medical standpoint, and evaluate the impact on the human body will be confirmed.
- The facility will include shielding from cosmic radiation due to solar activity, and the selection and thickness of facility material types will be confirmed.
- Heat transfer and fluid behavior will also be examined inside the habitat as issues unique to rotating bodies and active control for rotational stability will be initiated.
Through this joint research, the feasibility of a lunar and Martian artificial gravity network, including the interplanetary artificial gravity transfer vehicle Hexatrack (HEXATRACK), will also be examined.
Artificial Gravity Network and HEXATRACK (Image: Yosuke A. Yamashiki, SIC Human Spaceology Center, GSAIS, Kyoto University)
４．About the Research Project
This research project will be conducted as a joint research project between Kyoto University (SIC Human Spaceology Center and related departments (Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate School of Science, and Disaster Prevention Research Institute) and Kajima Corporation, with the participation of Kyoto University professors specializing in each topic. The project will be carried out with the cooperation of other experts as necessary.
＜Researcher’s Comments＞
There needs to be a significant leap in technology to implement artificial gravity and to link it to actual space habitation. In the three core concepts, we will build the foundation for constructing a “terra window” to the Earth in space, by creating a new core society using the core technology of artificial gravity and the core biome of artificial oceans. Each of these technologies is important research that will lead to the implementation of further terrestrial facilities, the realization of the SDGs, and the preservation of the global environment.
(Yosuke Yamashiki Kyoto University Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, SIC Human Spaceology Center）
We hope that this research will demonstrate that Japan’s space industry is a world leader and that future space development will be beneficial by sharing peaceful ideas. Large-scale construction, such as artificial gravity facilities on the Moon, will only be realized through international cooperation. At this early stage of space exploration, we hope this research will serve as a catalyst for the unity of humanity.
(Takuya Ohno, Senior Researcher, Technical Research Institute, Kajima Corporation)
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