An engineering approach to miogravity syndrome

The human species is rapidly expanding. Barring global catastrophe and unnatural constraints, it will, in a brief time on the scale of natural history, fill the uttermost reaches of the solar system. The beachhead established by President Kennedy's lunar program will lead to lunar, Martian and free space settlements in the next century. In a single generation of those who call them home, the constant 9.81 m.s-2 pull of Earth's gravity, which has influenced the evolution and development of terrestrial life forms for billions of years, will fade from common experience. Miogravity syndrome, a prognosticated complex arising in reduced gravity environments such as the surfaces of the Moon and Mars and principally encompassing muscle atrophy, cardiovascular deconditioning and bone demineralization, stands to replace physics and rocketry as the fundamental challenge of interplanetary astronautics. Mirroring our past few million years of changing climate and resources, the mobility of humans between diverse gravitational environments on the high frontier will critically depend on our ability to adapt. Tomorrow, as ever, a mushrooming penchant for toolmaking will spearhead the human career.