SMART THINKING

The future of space travel – from orbiting hotels to living on Mars.

The future of space travel– from orbiting hotels to living on Mars.

Buzz Lightyear’s classic catchphrase perfectly describes the limitless possibilities of space exploration. Now that private companies have entered the space race, we expect to see some great leaps and bounds in exploration and discovery in the coming years. Some, such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, are particularly interested in space tourism, whereas others, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are more interested in learning how to achieve extended space stays, and an exploration of deeper space.

Recently an international crew of astronauts blasted off en route to the International Space Station following a successful launch on the first NASA-certified commercial human spacecraft system in history. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Crew Dragon spacecraft and astronauts into orbit to begin a six-month science mission aboard the space station. Planned experiments include Food Physiology – a study of the effects of an optimised diet on crew health – and Genes in Space-7, a student-designed experiment that aims to better understand how spaceflight affects brain function, enabling scientists to keep astronauts healthy as they prepare for long-duration missions in low-Earth orbit and beyond. As part of their research, the crew will also undertake studies that include using chips with tissue that mimics the structure and function of human organs, in order to understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases; growing radishes in different types of light and soils as part of ongoing efforts to produce food in space; and testing a new system to remove heat from NASA’s next generation spacesuit. All we can say is, watch this space.