Move Into Space, but Where?
This is an interesting article from Wired News from the Space 2006 conference dealing with the issue of having human live in outer space long term:
“It’s not hard to sell attendees of the Space 2006 conference on permanent human settlements in space. Where those settlements should be, however, is another question. Various scientists make their case for Mars, the moon or habitats orbiting the Earth. While the question is not a pressing one for most people, for the futurists mapping the humans path to space, the destination makes all the difference in the world.
For Al Globus, senior research associate for human factors research and technology at NASA Ames Research Center, the most salient issue is one that most people take for granted on Earth: gravity. In low gravity, muscles atrophy and bones loose calcium and become brittle. If people start having children in an off-Earth settlement, those children — being adapted to the moon’s one-sixth gravity or Mars’ three-eighths gravity — may not be able to function on Earth, Globus argues.”