The chatter about the "urgency" of space colonies got me thinking. Right now only 13 people have lived in space at any one time, and a space colony would involve hundreds, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, up to a million people. That's a pretty big gap between humanity's experience so far and what would be required to make a space colony work.So are there any plans or studies for a prototype/testbed "colony module" to be berthed on ISS? A module with living quarters for volunteer couples and individuals who could spend a few years on board (up to a decade?) and try to live and work there with as little input from earth as possible. Design the module with a self contained life support system, water recycling, greenhouses and animal pens, and study things like human reproduction, radiation exposure, telemedicine, and so on. Gradually expand the size of the "prototype colony" and see how it develops. And since ISS is orbiting earth there's always the possibility of an evacuation if needed, once commercial crew gets going.
Design the module with a self contained life support system, water recycling, greenhouses and animal pens...
ISS is a colony module.
If you want a larger crew size, you need to specify why and what they will do.
As far as "animal pens" I was thinking about small pigs and chickens raised for food (incl. eggs) to supplement the greenhouses.Anyway if it's not possible for a colony module to fly I would hope the testbeds Jorge mentions would at least get to be tried out at some point.
Good point about the floating "waste", that had not fully entered my mind. I wonder how past animal experiments in space (aboard the shuttle for example) dealt with that.
...and animal pens...
So are there any plans or studies for a prototype/testbed "colony module" to be berthed on ISS?
A module with living quarters for volunteer couples and individuals who could spend a few years on board (up to a decade?)
Design the module with a self contained life support system, water recycling, greenhouses and animal pens, and study things like human reproduction, radiation exposure, telemedicine, and so on.
Quote from: Bubbinski on 06/03/2012 05:57 pm...and animal pens...That won't happen until pigs fly! In all seriousness, what we need is a orbital test bed before we go large scale. A place that can test new water cycles, power generation and long-term air filtration, etc. We need a place to work out infant technology to get it to the point that could support a colony of any size. That place is called the Space Station.
I don't believe we need a long term Earth bound test as there are at present throughout the world, homes that are being used in this way, only without the oxygen creation, and air purifying system.
About animal pens, flying feces aside: we get so accustomed to eating meat (or eggs, for that matter) that we don't fully realise what it costs to obtain it. In a closed-loop environment, to breed animals, you first have to grow plants to feed them. The amount of resources necessary to obtain animal protein is much, much larger than for an equivalent amount of plant protein (of which pulses, i.e. beans and especially soy beans, are an excellent source). The first space colonists, at least, will be vegan. Then, when they really get tired of eating tofu, they will go for animals that are used to living in a three-dimensional, bare-bones, contained environment for which automated life support, including waste treatment, is well understood: fish.