Questions tagged [long-duration]
Questions about long-duration spaceflight.
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How much algae would you need to fully support a person?
Recently, I saw a video on Cody'sLab, where an “algae panel” was constructed. This is set up like a solar panel and uses algae to convert light and air into food and oxygen.
This got me wondering how ...
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Why have we not seen spin gravity testing in space? Artificial gravity created through centrifugal/centripetal force [duplicate]
Why have I not seen any spin gravity testing in space? Or, more accurately, artificial gravity created through centrifugal/centripetal force. I haven't heard of any tests in standalone spacecraft or ...
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How long can the dawn probe‘s ion thrusters burn?
The title pretty much summarizes the question.
Weirdly, googling „dawn spaceprobe burn time“ and similar things didn‘t turn up anything useful (at least for me), so I was wondering if maybe someone ...
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Cryogenic storage in Starship header tanks
Since Starship uses cold liquid oxygen and methane fuel in its header tanks, how will these cryogenic tanks been kept full and cold on long missions in space?
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Is retired astronaut Scott Kelly now the same height as his brother?
In WIRED's new video Astrophysicist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED "Astrophysicist Janna Levin, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of gravity to 5 different people; a child, ...
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Effective range of a laser propelled solar sail
The ongoing Breakthrough Starshot program proposes the use of high powered lasers on Earth to be aimed at a solar sail with the intention of propelling it to the star Alpha Centauri.
To be more ...
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Shape Memory Metal Self Stablizing Solar Sail
Can the frame of a solar sail be made with shape-memory metals to contract in a way to maintain orientation to the Sun either in orbit or interplanetary? Would there be enough temperature difference ...
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Can I freshen my clothes on the ISS with a clothes line?
There are a number of questions about washing clothes on the ISS, the short answer is that they do NOT wash them.
Nudism in space: Why wear clothes anyway?
Washing clothes in space: are there any ...
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Ion thrusters trip time
Suppose we had a fully equipped nuclear powered ion thruster starship.
If it had a constant rate of acceleration of 1g, taking into account the fact that at the half way point you would have to turn ...
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Nudism in space: Why wear clothes anyway?
Currently, doing laundry in microgravity is an unsolved engineering problem. The result is that clean clothes on the International Space Station have become a consumable resource. Clean clothes get ...
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What will J002E3 be like on its return?
J002E3 is believed to be the S-IVB third stage of the Apollo 12 rocket. It is expected to return to temporary Earth orbit in the 2040's.
If some enterprising soul decided to build a rocket capable ...
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How long could the shuttle remain docked to ISS and still capable of landing?
Soyuz remains docked to ISS for months at a time, then returns the crew to Earth.
The longest the shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996 ...
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Muscle loss in space
Since loss of muscle is such a big problem in extended space travel I wondered (and practicalty is a different issue) if astronauts could maintain muscle mass by donning oxygen masks and playing a ...
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Which is the longest distance traveled by a space craft?
Which is the longest distance traveled by a space craft? Manned or unmanned? I believe it's Voyager, but I am not sure about the distance it traveled or is still traveling.
I believe the mission ...
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Why not leave interplanetary probes on standby after primary mission, activating them at will decades later?
Imagine a spacecraft which orbits or follows an object like Dawn, Rosetta and Cassini do today, not being decommissioned and deliberately crashed, but instead put in hibernation. With enough fuel and ...
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Why only 2 male astronauts for the Year In Space ISS Mission?
I wonder why the space agencies chose only 2 males for the Year In Space ISS Mission?
I think it would have made more sense to have at least 1 male and 1 female astronaut, or more preferably 3 male ...
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What psychological therapy is available to space travelers
Is there an 'on-call' person dedicated for psychological therapy of people traveling in space? Flights are getting longer and longer, and while isolation has been studied for space and certainly ...
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Water needs for a manned journey to Mars
Will we be able to take the amount of water that will be needed for this 18 month trip, or will they have to recycle the water that they take with them? I imagine that this will be quite a challenge ...
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What would be the ideal hydroponic crops for long duration travels?
By "ideal" I mean most nutritious, less maintenance as possible, less space consuming, etc.
I guess this could be for any long-duration flights, as a means of self sustenance in addition to supplies, ...
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Could electrodynamic tethers power long-term unmanned satellites around the Sun, Jupiter, or Saturn?
Assuming you have the budget to research electrodynamic tether powered unmanned satellites, and you had a cheap way of getting them in to earth low earth orbit, would they be able to use electricity ...
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How long can probes function, e.g. New Horizons? Can and should we build "century probes"?
36 years after launch we still communicate with Voyager and ISEE. And contact with the Voyagers could continue for another 10 years or so. I doubt that it was designed with this in mind (but who knows ...
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What factors limit the lifetime of an unmanned spacecraft?
Other than fuel, what factors limit the lifetime of a spacecraft? For example, if someone wanted to send a spacecraft on a 100 year trip round the solar system and back to Earth, could it be done ...
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Durability of solar sails. How big of a problem is high-energy proton flux?
When we think of solar sails, I guess we mostly think of using radiation pressure of our closest star to achieve thrust, gracefully leaning on it with a large area sail of incredibly light and thin ...
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What's our limit in sending probes to distant bodies?
Currently, we're able to aim probes at various bodies in the solar system pretty well.
Do we have the technology to send a probe to Alpha Centauri? If we're aiming at a star, approximately how far ...
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Back to Earth's gravity, what astronauts do?
After a long period in space and once back to earth, what do astronauts to get again used to the Earth's gravity?
user55
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Washing clothes in space: are there any technical challenges?
Currently, the ISS is resupplied with fresh clothes from the Earth. I remember reading a report on NTRS stating that the requirements for fresh clothes proved to be much higher than expected.
Thus, ...
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What is the optimal selection for a small self sustaining space farm?
There are a multitude of resources about growing food in space, NASA research indicates we have been growing foods in space for years. Colonies in Space by T. A. Heppenheimer seems to have some ...
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Would a biological resource-system be feasible for long-term manned flights?
Supposing a long-term manned flight is planned would a biological resource-system be considered as an option?
Would a biological resource-system work or is a technical solution superior?
Currently ...
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Is artificial gravity feasible in manned long-term space exploration?
We know that it is possible for humans to stay physically in shape during long term space missions (see for example Valeri Polyakov who stayed on Mir for more than 14 months for one trip). However, ...
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Does long-term residence on the ISS affect eyesight?
Life on a space station is very confined. For months on end, astronauts are kept in a structure that's about the size of a football field on the outside and much smaller on the inside. The nearest ...
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What are the health risks facing humans on long-term space flights?
There are lots of engineering challenges associated with long-term space flight. Many of these are driven by the humans on board the vehicles -- specifically the mitigations required to control ...
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What spaceship materials could naturally experience radioactive decay and transmute on a million year interstellar journey? [closed]
For extremely long journeys, deterioration of spaceship materials becomes a concern beyond mere rust or corrosion.
Assuming a ship is sufficiently protected against radiation and other colliding ...
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