Guest: Dr. Jim Logan was the guest for this Space Show program. Dr. Logan kicked off the discussion with a reality check of the body of evidence that we have accumulated during the 47 years of human space flight. He talked about two major potential showstoppers, micro/hypo gravity and radiation. As we discussed during the show, we know quite a bit about these two areas, but we do not yet have a solution for the problems they create for long-term human spaceflight or settlement. Dr. Logan received the first of several calls, this one bringing into question the recent Washington Post article suggesting the ISS be used as a spaceship and more. Between the caller and Dr. Logan, reasons were given why this was not possible, both on the engineering side of things and from the human factors perspective. Dr. Logan then led us in a discussion about microgravity, what we know from some rat experiments and, in responding to other questions, we learned that we really do not know how much of 1 G humans actually need as the experiments to determine this have never been done. We talked about the gravity on the Moon, on Mars, and if either of those celestial bodies would be sufficient in the gravity they provide to enable humans to survive. As Jim pointed out, the one thing that has remained constant on Earth no matter what else was happening was that humans had 1 G, so we know we need that constant. Many other subjects were discussed on this show including sending machine shops to space and even making tools in space, as suggested by a listener calling the program. Dr. Logan picked up on this discussion and you will not want to miss what was said. It's in the last segment of the program. We also talked about the importance of using In Situ resources such as O2 and Dr. Logan gave us the numbers for what it takes to support one human for one year in space and what those numbers look like if O2 can come from space rather than Earth. You will not want to miss this discussion. One listener asked Dr. Logan what the thousands of space advocates and enthusiasts worldwide could do to help bring about the type of space program Dr. Logan suggested we need, including lunar, Martian, and NEO visits with possible settlement inside the NEO since it appears to meet the human factors requirements for a long duration space presence. Dr. Logan's first recommendation was to get a dose of reality, followed by In Situ resource usage, followed by policy and our continuing to drive these points home to the public, Congress, the media, and more. Jim explains all three of these basic requirements in his response to this listener question. Other subjects that came up were NASA and its type of programming, the life science and engineering cultural differences within NASA and other organizations, and much more. This is a very important Space Show program so don't miss it. You can send your comments or questions to Dr. Jim Logan through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
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