Japan's Kyoto University experts propose artificial gravity habitats for Moon & Mars

Working and living in low-gravity environment results in a range of complications which can differ from brain damage to bone and muscle loss. It is also evident that astronauts living and working in space have a hard time adjusting when they land back on Earth after prolonged missions. In a bid to ensure that gravity does not act as a roadblock to humanity's expansion to the Moon, Mars and beyond, a team of researchers has proposed the idea of habitats with artificial gravity. 

The Kyoto University scientists in Japan have partnered with Kajima Construction Corp for research that, apart from artificial gravity habitats, proposes the idea of an interplanetary transportation system.

The importance of gravity for the human civilisation

"Without gravity, mammals may not be born successfully. Also, even if you can be born, you will not be able to expect normal growth under low gravity", the team said in an official statement. "When a person grows under low gravity, he or she becomes a body that cannot stand on its own on the earth".

The experts say that they would produce artificial gravity inside their Moon and Mars habitats using centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the habitats. The Kajima corp also released a video of the proposed habitats which are suspended perpendicularly inside a tall structure filled with water and greenery. According to the experts, this structure would rotate at high speeds, generating centrifugal force and hence gravity. 

"By living in this facility, human beings can have children with peace of mind and maintain a body that can return to the earth at any time", the statement further read. 

Interplanetary space travel

The research experts are also working on a concept of a transportation system that would transport people from the Earth to the Moon, Mars and back while maintaining normal gravity. This idea is based on the theory that with humanity's expansion beyond the Moon, people would change locations for business and tourism. Named Space Express, this concept includes a six-car train that would allow interplanetary space travel. 

Notably, these trains would stop at stations installed on the Moon (Luna Station), the Earth station called Terra Station that will be the successor of the International Space Station and a Mars station that will be constructed on the red planet's Moon, Phobos.