Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1984)
Tuesday, November 20, 1984/The Battalion/Page 3 3tr iditions 3 other fourth :s break I guess an Ag ing we forme NASA working on life in space By ANN CERVENKA Reporter The possibility of man being able to live in space is more like \ science fiction than reality to | many people. But it may be closer ; than you think. By 1992, the National Aero- | nautics and Space Administration plans to construct an $8 billion space station where human be- i ings will be able to live. A space station is a multi-pur- pose manned permanent facility designed to orbit the Earth. Space shuttles will piece the station to gether on seven separate trips. I The shuttles also will transport crews, which will consist of six to eight members living in space for : three month cycles, i “This thing is really different for NASA because it’s like build- ! ing a little Cape Kennedy in the isky,” Mark Craig, NASA systems | engineering manager, said. The essence of the space sta- | tion program is permanent | manned occupancy, John D. Hodge said in his article, The ! Space Station Program Plan. Hodge, deputy director of the In- i terim Space Station Office at | NASA Headquarters, said the sta- ! tion will be flexible and expanda ble. “The space station will offer people an opportunity to extend their wisdom and skills to new frontiers and horizons, to stimu- [late their, imagination, to gener ate new ideas, to nurture their I creativity, and to benefit intellec tually from the experience of dwelling in weightlessness in a se cure research environment,” Hodge said. One of the primary advantages to working in space is that every thing is weightless. “Things that are very easy to do on Earth are very hard to do in space and things that are very easy to do in space are very hard to do on Earth,” Craig said. Activ ities such as exercising, taking showers and eating are extremely difficult in space and must be practiced to be mastered. Producing some drugs, includ ing interferon, will be much eas ier and cheaper in space, Craig said. “Even with those expenses (of sending a station to space), we can still reduce the costs of these drugs by orders of magnitude,” he said. The three major parts of the station are the power generator devices to turn energy into heat, modules where the astronauts live and work, and structures to hold these two parts together. The proposed model has two modules designed for living quar ters, two laboratory modules and one logistic module — which would take necessities back and forth from the station to Earth. The 40-foot by 15-foot living area modules will include every thing necessary to survive, plus a little more to make it “habitable,” Craig said. The station will contain exer cise equipment, stereos, television sets, views of the Earth from the windows and a communication system to talk with families. In an attempt to prevent bore dom of the astronauts, plans are being made for the scientists to transmit lectures to university students on Earth, the memoran dum said. Experimental plants have been made to recycle as much air and water as possible in a closed sys tem, rather than transporting these supplies in logistic modules. “We want to make space a place to live and work,” Craig said. People will be living on the moon in the next 20 years, he said. In his State of the Union ad dress in January, President Rea gan challenged the nation to de velop a permanently manned space station within a decade. The government has formed a committee to fund the project and the president emphasized that the station should support research and international com munication. Reagan has invited U.S. allies, including Europe, Canada and Japan, to help with the space sta tion. In his article Space Station: The Next Logical Step, James M. Beggs said the station will be a key element of our nation’s for eign policy. “It lends itself to participation by other countries in both tne de velopment and use of. an entirely new capability in space,” Beggs, an administrator at NASA Head quarters, said. A special committee has been planning for the space station since April and engineers have proposed a model. “We will start with this one (model) and evolve over the next four or five years,” Craig said. Doug Cook, head technical analyst at NASA, said the space station will be extrememly useful for various technologies and ex periments. Experiments that require a sterile or steady environment will be conducted in unmanned plat forms. These experimental plat forms are designed to facilitate additions in the future, Cook said. Craig said people with varied talents are necessary to run the space station. The Space Station Medical Sci ences Concepts memorandum addresses medical problems that could come up at the space sta tion. The memorandum says, in part: • Inflight medical care is an absolute requirement. • Because a rescue could take up to 21 days, not including the trip back to Earth, an illness re quiring a rescue mission would probably result in the astronaut’s death. Therefore, health care must include prevention, diagno sis and treatment. • Because exposure to high levels of radiation can shorten life, extra steps must be taken to rid the station of chemical con taminants, improve medical care and shield the station in the event of a solar storm. Craig said the ultimate ques tion is whether or not someone could live in space forever. The Soviets have been aggres sive in space technology, Craig said. “They essentially have a space station,” he said. The Soviet’s Sa- lyut has been occupied by differ ent crews for several years. However, the U.S. station will be unique because unlike Salyut, the station is not intended for pe riodic visits, Beggs said. It will be permanently inhabited, but will have “shut-down” capability, he said. “Starting in the early 1990’s, I believe there will always be Amer icans living and working in spa ce,” he said. The space station will rotate around the Earth every 90 min utes at 25,000 feet per second in a 270 nauticle mile high orbit. The station will orbit for at least 10 to 15 years and maybe indefinitely, Craig said. Dr. David Norton, assistant di rector of research for the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station said the space station will be beneficial if it is developed to include plans for the future, such as exploration of the moon and Mars. “If it would be permanent in space, I think it’s a good objecti ve,” he said. Norton said the experiment station at A&M has been working on a Space Engineering Research Program for 18 months that would bring together the efforts of Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and the University. Engi neers from A&M sent NASA a proposal to do research in space. The program, which would be funded by NASA, will probably be approved, Norton said. “We want to make Texas A&M recognized as a leader in space,” Norton said. “We are going to be looking at fundamental technol ogy that will enable us to be in space forever.” Food drive for needy underway By DAINAH BULLARD Staff Writer In an effort to improve the holi day meals of the underprivileged, several Texas A&M organizations are sponsoring canned food collec tions and food delivery programs. Today is the final day to make contributions to the Mosher Hall col lection. Mosher’s collection will be combined with the collection spon sored by the Student Y Association. The Student Y’s “Push for Canned Goods” will be Nov. 25 through Dec. 1. Canned goods from these collections will be donated to the Twin City Missions, which spon sors missions and churches through out the Bryan-College Station area. Wednesday is the last day to make contributions to Underwood Hall’s canned food drive. Contributions to Underwood’s collection will be do- ;d to the Presbyterian food pan- k.l ; in Temple. Along with Aston Hall, Under wood is sponsoring a second holiday program. Teams consisting of one representative from Underwood and one representative from Aston will be buying $5 to $7 worth of gro ceries. Each team will deliver gro ceries to a participant in the Meals on Wheels program before Thanks giving. Hart Hall sponsored a canned goods collection with a new twist. In stead of relying on dorm residents to contribute the entire collection, dorm residents volunteered to col lect food door-to-door. Mark Gilbert, a Hart resident who organized the hall’s drive, said about 20 volunteers participated in the Nov. 8 effort. The volunteers con centrated on apartment complexes, he said. “We just knocked on doors and said we were collecting food for Thanksgiving, and asked if they’d like to contribute,” Gilbert said. Hart’s project netted four large trash cans — about 800 pounds — of canned goods, Gilbert said. The hall’s collection was donated to Aldersgate United Methodist Church in College Station. Dorm students who wish to partic ipate in similar programs should contact their resident advisors or dorm presidents for information on their dorm’s holiday programs. weeks, turn it jut no mt my a little ns sen- square i long- a band y is the lg , or get in = MSC eward ARE YOU DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS? MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE WITH MSC TRAVEL!! WINTER PARK Jan. 5-12 1425 or $445 *Roimd-Trip Bus Transportation *5 Nights Lodging *5 Day Lift Tickets Two Meals Daily-Family Style *1 Party LOTS OF FUN CRESTED BUTTE Jan. 6-13 $320 *Round-Trip Bus Transportation *5 Nights Lodging *5 Day Lift Tickets *2 Parties Extended Deadline Fri. Nov. 30th Hurry Now! For more info, call MSC Travel at 845-1515 THE POLITICS OF POLLUTION! Conoco Inc. vs. Sierra Club 8 p.m. Tues. Nov. 20 Rudder 601 zfcmemonicd Student Cenien.