Title
Artificial Gravity as a Human Health Countermeasure for Long Duration Spaceflight
About the Speaker
Jon Rask is a Life Scientist in the Space Biosciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center. His current research focuses on human health effects of space flight and the exploration of the Moon and Mars. Jon has investigated the toxicity, reactivity, and abrasiveness of Apollo lunar dust specimens, and developed novel brick-like regolith biocomposite technologies made from lunar dust simulants.
Jon has also developed and tested life science hardware and experiments that flew aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. He has performed experiment operations aboard the NASA C9B parabolic aircraft, been a test subject in hypergravity experiments aboard the centrifuge facilities at NASA Ames, and has conducted field astrobiology research in desert and polar regions. Most recently, Jon served as a Principal Investigator for the NASA Ames Space Life Sciences Training Program in Artificial Gravity.
Jon is a 2001 alumnus of the Space Studies M.S. program at the University of North Dakota.
Files
Description
Future long duration human exploration of the Moon and Mars will expose astronauts to the deleterious effects of spaceflight. Although artificial gravity has been proposed as a human health countermeasure for reduced-gravity environments, it is unclear what g level, duration, and frequency ofexposures is optimal for successful application of artificial gravity in space. This presentation highlighted results from recent human experiments aboard centrifuges at NASA Ames that investigated subject familiarization to centrifugation, as well as the effect that artificial gravity has on the cardiovascular system. Experiences of being an artificial gravity test subject were also shared.
Publication Date
2-3-2014
City
Grand Forks, ND
Recommended Citation
Rask, Jon, "Artificial Gravity as a Human Health Countermeasure for Long Duration Spaceflight" (2014). Space Studies Colloquium. 38.
https://commons.und.edu/ss-colloquium/38