A Computational Approach to Graduated Centrifuge Profiles for Partial Gravity Planetary Environments
Document Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
2026
DOI
10.2514/6.2026-114989
Publication Title
AIAA 2026 Regional Student Conferences
Pages
AIAA 2026-114989 (9 pp.)
Conference Name
AIAA 2026 Regional Student Conference, April 12-13, 2026, College Park, Maryland
Abstract
Missions such as NASA’s Artemis and SpaceX’s Starship aspire towards creating permanent settlements beyond Earth. In order to achieve this goal, it must be considered that the gravity present on planetary surfaces such as the Moon (0.165 g) and Mars (0.378 g) may be insufficient to support human physiology for long term habitation. On near-Earth missions, issues such as muscular atrophy, neuro-ocular changes, cardiopulmonary variations, and bone mineral density loss have been observed proportional to the duration spent in microgravity. Further studies have suggested that the severity of these conditions scales linearly with decreasing gravity, meaning that astronaut health can degrade in extended time frames within partial gravity. As missions extend further into the Solar System and settlements aim for permanence, permanent solutions must be considered. A proposed method that may negate these issues in spaceflight is a centrifuge, which mimics the effects of gravity upon the human body through the use of centripetal force, but the preexisting gravity field of a planetary surface causes a downward force that would interfere with the straight-walled centrifuges often studied. A MATLAB function takes design limits and planetary gravity as parameters to generate graduated centrifuge profiles that adjust for the combination of centripetal and gravitational forces. Subsequent consideration is given to the design and implementation of these structures.
Rights
Copyright © 2026 by the author.
Included with the kind written permission of the copyright holder.
Original Publication Citation
Jones, C. W. (2026). A computational approach to graduated centrifuge profiles for partial gravity planetary environments. In AIAA 2026 Regional Student Conferences (Article AIAA 2026-114989). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2026-114989
ORCID
0009-0009-9915-3026 (Jones)
Repository Citation
Jones, Cabell W., "A Computational Approach to Graduated Centrifuge Profiles for Partial Gravity Planetary Environments" (2026). Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications. 210.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/mae_fac_pubs/210
Included in
Mechanical Engineering Commons, Science and Technology Policy Commons, Space Habitation and Life Support Commons, Space Vehicles Commons