Space tourism may face some challenges with the uncertainty over the
next-generation rides into space. But that hasn't stopped Earth designers from
envisioning future space hotels for paying thrill seekers.
A robot concierge, a redesigned showerhead and a full-sensory exercise
wall are just part of the Space
Hotel Project created by master's degree students in a program hosted by
Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art in the UK. The concept
could theoretically attach to the International Space Station, so long as the growing
space
outpost remains in orbit.
"From personal hygiene to sleeping in zero gravity, we encouraged
the students to be completely creative with their solutions so that the living
conditions in the world's most isolated hotel could be as comfortable as
possible," said Daniele Bedini, a space architecture expert who has worked
for NASA and the European Space Agency on moon and Mars base designs.
The new space hotel concept includes a rigid module similar to Europe's
Columbus laboratory on the space station, as well as an inflatable sphere
developed by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.
Bedini told SPACE.com that the space hotel could be built
tomorrow with today's existing structures and technologies. He compared the
process to luxury airlines buying an airplane structure and personalizing the
interior.
Keeping clean in microgravity
Space hygiene has always proved a challenge, but space hotel designers
tackled everything from smaller vacuum-powered toilets to new clothing to keep odors down.
"There are no washing machines or tumble dryers in space so we had
to design clothes that enabled the skin to breathe, which reduces sweating,
smells and the need for clothes to be washed," said Katrin Baumgarten, a
student in the Innovation Design Engineering program at Imperial College
London. "We achieved this by using natural fibers that breathe and we also
made small chest flaps, which let the air in to keep the body cool and
comfortable."
A redesigned showerhead could also help tackle the washing
problem in space by using many small holes to squirt small amounts of water
and soap, and another set of holes to suck up water for recycling. Water only
comes out of the holes in contact with the skin, and so avoids leaving liquid
globules floating around.
Cleaning up after stray food crumbs or globules may similarly become a
cinch. An "AirMaid" cycle would operate during the night period on
the space hotel to suck any offending particles out of the air, just like the
space station's air conditioning unit operates.
A personal touch in space
Staying fit and healthy on a space vacation need not resemble a grim
daily ritual. Student designers suggested an exercise wall and a routine where
space tourists would pull on elastic bands in time with lights and music. But
astronauts may still prefer running on the COLBERT
treadmill named for comedian Stephen Colbert.
Food would also become a snap with customizable menu, and a robotic arm
that connects food containers in rows to create a tray-table.
The redesigned space hotel experience extends to the waking and sleeping
patterns, which face the challenge of dealing with 16 sunrises and sunsets
within the span of typical Earth day as the station orbits the planet every 90
minutes.
Astronauts on the space station today typically adhere to a daily schedule
anchored to Greenwich Mean Time, which dictates when their work days begin and
end.
Space hotel designers decided to incorporate light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
into the walls and storage spaces, and leave the natural light coming from
outside. The exterior glass would only darken to reduce the level of incoming
light during Earth's night cycle, and help space tourists adjust to the new patterns
of night and day.
A stand-alone lamp powered by glowing algae might also accompany space
tourists wherever they go, the student designers proposed. That could serve as
a poignant reminder of the life swarming across the planet below.
Getting off the ground
Any space hotel or tourism concepts must overcome a stiff challenge from
a budget crunch.
Space tourists going up to the space station face a squeeze for seats on
the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, if NASA follows an original plan to end space shuttle
flights by 2010. That would require the U.S. space agency's astronauts to take
Russian rides into orbit until NASA's Constellation program finds its legs.
The shortfall in manned spacecraft capability has space tourist outfits
seriously worried, given that their paying passengers may lack the rides to get
where they're going. One company, Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nev., a
proponent of inflatable space station modules and future space hotels, has
proposed how to rescue the Constellation program and its Orion spacecraft with
an Orion-Lite concept that pares down NASA's original design.
Still, uncertainty has not stopped Bedini and his students from working
on ways to inject fresh food into their tray-table concept. Bedini also wants
to test of a floating camera on the space station, which could eventually lead
to a robot concierge snapping vacation photos for space tourists.
Some of the ideas could become reality under Bedini's contract with
Thales Alenia Space. Bedini even hopes to pitch the space hotel concept to
private companies and space agencies, and perhaps make the space station an
even livelier place in the future.
Designers who want a taste of extreme interior decorating can sign up
for Bedini's course in Space Design at the Royal College of Art in London next year.
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