No more floating in a tin can
Astronauts may one day orbit the Earth in roomy balloons instead of cramped tin cans, now that NASA has made inflatable space habitats a priority.
The White House announced a change in direction for NASA on 1聽February. Instead of the planned crewed missions to the moon, the agency intends to pour money into research and development (快猫短视频, 13 February 2010, p聽8).
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The outline listed technologies on NASA鈥檚 wish list but provided few details. Now NASA has fleshed out its plans in a on 22聽February. One section notes that balloon-like habitats 鈥渃an be larger, lighter, and potentially less expensive鈥� than traditional ones made of rigid metal walls. They could be used as space stations, or eventually as moon bases. NASA may send inflatable structures to the International Space Station to test their mettle 鈥� including their ability to shield against space radiation.
The document also reveals that the agency plans to restart the . Until it was closed by budget cutbacks in 2007, the institute funded research into potentially revolutionary technologies, including space elevators and antimatter harvesting. 鈥淚ts cancellation was very short-sighted,鈥� says John Cramer of the University of Washington in Seattle.
