Space colonization--some physiological perspectives

While the establishment of large self-sustaining communities in free space is possible with present day technology, our understanding of the physiological design criteria determining habitat mass, structural configuration, cost, and ultimate feasibility, is inadequate. This paper briefly summarizes the biomedical findings of an engineering workshop cosponsored by the American Society of Engineering Education, Stanford University, and NASA's Ames Research Center (Summer, 1975). It is the conclusion of the study that a viable, economically productive space community of 10,000 people could be established with very conservative, centrifugally generated earth-normal gravity, general population maximum ionizing radiation dose standards (i.e. less than or equal to 0.5 rem/year, using passive shielding techniques), and a normoxic but reduced nitrogen partial pressure atmosphere. It is the conclusion of the author that although, in theory, some of the physiological constraints might in certain cases be partially relaxed, extensive research must be done to establish the degree of any such relaxation.