{"id":17584,"date":"2021-03-09T19:39:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-will-give-nasa-a-spin-in-lunar-gravity-on-suborbital-flight\/"},"modified":"2021-03-09T19:39:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:39:39","slug":"jeff-bezos-blue-origin-will-give-nasa-a-spin-in-lunar-gravity-on-suborbital-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-will-give-nasa-a-spin-in-lunar-gravity-on-suborbital-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin will give NASA a spin in lunar gravity on suborbital flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A drone\u2019s eye view shows Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard spaceship lifting off for a test flight. (Blue Origin Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With backing from NASA, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture will upgrade its New Shepard suborbital spaceship to provide lunar levels of gravity for future experiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanity has been dreaming about artificial gravity since the earliest days of spaceflight,\u201d Erika Wagner, Blue Origin\u2019s director of payloads for New Shepard, said today in a news release. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be partnering with NASA to create this one-of-a-kind capability to explore the science and technology we will need for future human space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parabolic-flight aircraft are able to provide a spectrum of reduced-gravity environments \u2014 such as the 17 percent of Earth gravity that people and payloads would experience on the moon. Similar gravity levels can be produced using centrifuges on suborbital spacecraft. But those methods have their limits. For example, the dose of lunar gravity amounts to just seconds at a time during a parabolic flight, and the centrifuges can accommodate only small payloads.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Blue Origin\u2019s method would turn the entire New Shepard capsule into a centrifuge for up to two minutes or more. The capsule\u2019s reaction control thrusters would generate a spin amounting to 11 rotations per minute during the free-fall portion of the flight. The resulting centripetal force would be equivalent to the moon\u2019s gravity.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin expects to provide the rotational capability starting in late 2022.<\/p>\n

Testing payloads under lunar conditions should help pave the way for NASA\u2019s Artemis moon exploration program, which is due to send astronauts to the lunar surface in the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n