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ADAPTATION STRATEGY:Human Spaceflight Technologies for Critical Structures and Infrastructure

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ASTE 527 Concept

Course Advisor: Prof. Thangavelu

Jing Zhang

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Context - External and Internal Threats

Asteroid threat(1)

    • It is just a matter of when, not if
    • Deal with meteorites shower and resonant, sympathetic effects:earthquakes, tsunamis, sustained extreme weather patterns

Manmade problems

    • Nuclear Winter
    • Population – dwindling resources
    • Gene engineered viruses

Climate Change

    • Global Warming(2)
    • The frozen methane time bomb(3,4)
    • Sea level rose ten times faster than their 2000-year average

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What if we are not prepared?

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Context-Climate Change Conundrum

  • Planet Earth is highly complex system
  • Insufficient Scientific Data
  • Current range of data, tools and models not adequate
  • Potential Engineering Solution

Adaptation projects employing high technology and Macro Engineering principles

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Context-Critical Structure and Critical Infrastructure

  • A system or systems that protects humanity and life sustenance over indefinite periods, should things go terribly wrong due to unforeseen events caused by external or internal agents beyond our control.

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Spaceship Earth – Buckminster Fuller

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Historical background- Arcology

  • Arcology (Architecture + Ecology)
  • Visionary architects have designed near

self-sufficient architectures(5)

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  • Minimize the destructive impact of development on the Earth
  • Arcosanti began construction in 1970 in central Arizona

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Freedom Ship –Norman Nixon

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West Edmonton Mall - Canada

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Marine City - Kiyonaru Kikutake

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Biosphere ll- Arizona

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Biosphere – Montreal, CA

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Eden Project – Cornwall, UK

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Ark Hotel –Remistudio, Russia

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Historical background-Masdar City

  • Rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology
  • Planned to

cover 6 square

kilometres

and home to

45,000 to 50,000

 people and

1,500 businesses

Total cost $20 billion

400K per person

120m2/person

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Historical background

  • McMurdo Station
    • U.S. Antarctic research center
    •  Technologically-advanced, self-sufficient human community
  • Las Vegas Strip
    • Protect people from the 45C (110F) heat
    • Travel between several different casinos without ever going outdoors

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Svaalbard Seed Vault

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International Space Station

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Rationale

  • Critical technical issues already resolved and developed in human space technology
    • Closed Ecological Life Support System

(CELSS) in development(6)

    • Sufficient energy supply , solar energy and

nuclear energy, RORSAT, SNAP-10A (7,8)

    • Thermal Control System
    • Redundant, system cross-strapping and

backups for safety and reliability

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SNAP: 22.4 cm*39.62 cm

30kW for a year

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Rationale

    • Water and atmospheric control systems

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Concept-Possible structures

  • Potential Natural Sites for Large

Population Shelters

    • Natural caves and lava tubes
    • Giant quarries after mining
  • Manmade structures

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Concept-Example of Quarry Utilization

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Concept – Adaptation using current and advanced Human Space Technologies

  • ISS shielding technology(9)
    • Particle Radiation
    • Meteorite impact
    • Hazardous gas
    • Fatal virus and patient quarantine

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  • Energy support and control
    • Solar energy(10)
    • Nuclear energy
      • Support the whole habitat if solar energy is not viable
    • Heat exchange

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Concept - Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS)

WATER AND AIR

  • Water recycling
  • Oxygen
    • Extracted from the outside polluted air
    • From plants in the manmade biosphere
    • Generated by decomposing water and chemicals as in spaceship

FOOD

  • Algae and other plants grow inside the shelter
  • CEAC Antarctica food chamber
  • Lunar Green House Project
  • Hydroponics, Aquaponics

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WASTE

  • Supercritical Oxidation
  • Recycling

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Merits and Limitations

  • Merits
    • Take advantage of existing space technology and generate profit
    • Reduce dependence on natural resources for sustainable development
    • Supplement Planetary Defense Strategies
    • Provide reference for long-distance space exploration

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  • Limitations
    • Large amount of investment in a short period, for US

400K*0.3Billion/4=30 Trillion,

    • Global, national consensus lacking
    • Reliable shielding materials and methods that can withstand large impact shock and after effects over long periods
    • Rapid, large population evacuation strategies

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Conclusion

  • As Charles Darwin pointed out, only the adaptable survive.
  • Flora and Fauna are adapting to changes continuously.
  • Combine space technology and architectural technology, we could build critical structures and infrastructures enabling human beings to survive cataclysmic events beyond our control.
  • We will adapt to future environment.

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Conclusion

  • The self-sustainable projects would push forward future space technology
  • With this knowledge, human beings, in giant sustainable biosphere ships, would really step out of the Earth’s cradle to settle the length and breadth of the universe.

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Further studies

  • Utilize self-sustaining space technology in macro engineering scale.
  • Bring down the cost
  • Prove adaptation saves more in the long run.
  • 210 Billion/400K=0.5 million (11)

12Trillion*20%/400K=64 million (12) 438Billion*10/400K= 109 million (13)

  • Enhance global cooperation and collaboration on massive scale projects

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Prof.James Lovelock on �Adaptation to Climate Change

  • On whether we are capable as a species of tackling climate change:I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change. We're very active animals. We like to think: "Ah yes, this will be a good policy," but it's almost never that simple. Wars show this to be true. People are very certain they are fighting a just cause, but it doesn't always work out like that. Climate change is kind of a repetition of a war-time situation. It could quite easily lead to a physical war. That's why I always come back to the safest thing to do being adaptation.

"I've always said that adaptation is the most serious thing we can do"

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References:

  • “Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response." Astronomy Jan. 2009
  • Bronstert, A. (2003), Floods and Climate Change: Interactions and Impacts. Risk Analysis, 23: 545–557. doi: 10.1111/1539-6924.00335
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/
  • Atmospheric science: Enigma of the recent methane budget, Nature 476, 157–158 (11 August 2011)
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology#Development
  • D.F. Doerr, Interaction between exercising humans and growing plants in a closed ecological life support system, Acta Astronautica, Volume 36, Issues 8-12, October-December 1995,
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RORSAT
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNAP-10A
  • Extreme Climate Control Membrane Structures, 2006, Volume 54, 151-174, DOI: 10.1007/1-4020-4604-9_9
  • Sui Pheng Low, & Xiu Ting Goh. (2010). Exploring outer space technologies for sustainable buildings. Facilities, 28(1/2), 31-45
  • Shaping Climate Resistant Development report
  • "Climate costs." Nature 461.7261 (2009): 150. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Dec. 2011
  • Frank Ackerma, The Cost of Climate Change, NRDC REPORT 2008

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Thanks!