As the global space community makes a return to the moon and sets its sight on Mars and beyond, an exciting new era of deep space, long-duration crewed space exploration and development is upon us. However, as promising as our journeys beyond Earth orbit will be, they will also carry significant health challenges for future explorers and pioneers – not least of which is body-degrading long-term exposure to microgravity. As a recent NASA Ames study concluded, one promising countermeasure for upcoming deep space missions is artificial gravity aboard journey-bound craft.
The concept is far from novel. From Discovery’s rotating centrifuge in “2001: A Space Odyssey” to Mark Whitney’s Mars-bound Hermes in “The Martian,” artificial gravity in space has long been in the public imagination. Scientists have been studying the concept since the start of the Space Age; and, though it didn’t come to fruition, there were even formal efforts to include an artificial gravity module – the “Nautilus X” – on the International Space Station. Today, innovative companies such as Gravitics are actively developing stations designed around the artificial gravity environment.
The future expansion of humanity into the depths of the solar system will very likely rely on artificial gravity, and the time is ripe to start demonstrating the capability. This Beyond Earth panel brings together the leading experts and executives studying and deploying artificial gravity in space for a compelling conversation on the opportunities and challenges involved in the technology, as well as the vision for its future.
PROGRAM
Panel Discussion
Mike DeRosa, Marketing and Media, Co-Founder, Gravitics – Moderator
Tarek Waked, Founding Partner, Type One Ventures
Peter Garretson, Head, Space Horizons Research Task Force
Dr. Janani Iyer and Dr. Siddhita Mhatre, Authors, Cells Report paper on artificial gravity
Chris Lewicki, Space Industrialist, Entrepreneur, Engineer
FEATURED SPEAKERS with BIOS
Mike DeRosa
Moderator
Marketing and Media, Co-Founder
Gravitics
Mike is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Gravitics Inc., developer of next-gen space stations and LEO infrastructure. With his past technical experience working on Netflix and HBO productions, Mike brings a fresh and ambitious perspective to the Gravitics founding team. Mike is zealous and optimistic about the future of Humanity, both on Earth’s surface and beyond in the high frontier.
Tarek is a former entrepreneur that later become founding partner at Type One Ventures. As a personal mission he focused on investing anything that helps humanity become a Type One Civilization on the Kardashev Scale.
Part of that mission is helping humanity become an interplanetary civilization, and that mission entails a host of different topics that will ultimately make life here on earth better.
He lives in Los Angeles, but spends time between the Type One office in LA and London.
Peter Garretson
Head
Space Horizons Research Task Force
Peter Garretson is an independent strategy and policy consultant and a Senior Fellow in Defense Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. He was previously a transformational strategist for the USAF and an instructor at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College where he leads the Space Horizons Research Task Force. He is currently writing a book on great power competition for space resources.
Dr. Janani Iyer
Research Scientist
USRA/NASA Ames
Dr. Iyer is a Scientist at USRA working at NASA Ames Research Center and has extensive experience in spaceflight research using model organisms. Dr. Iyer graduated with a Ph.D., in Genetics from the Pennsylvania State University with a focus on genetic analysis of synaptic transmission. During her postdoctoral work, she performed functional studies to understand the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically the 16p11.2 deletion disorder. Her current research focus is understanding the effects of spaceflight stressors including microgravity and radiation on the nervous system using model organisms, such as Drosophila and mouse, and identifying countermeasures to mitigate these effects. Dr. Iyer’s recent spaceflight study using Drosophila melanogaster published in Cell Reports examined the effects of spaceflight on the nervous system and explored artificial gravity as a potential countermeasure.
Dr. Siddhita Mhatre
Senior Scientist
KBR/NASA Ames
Dr. Siddhita Mhatre is a Senior Scientist at KBR working at NASA Ames Research Center. In this role, Dr. Mhatre is investigating the impact of various space stressors on the physiology of the nervous system and potential countermeasure targets using the Drosophila and murine model systems. Her recent ISS-based spaceflight study using Drosophila melanogaster, published in Cell Reports, evaluated changes in the fly CNS under a microgravity environment and explored inflight artificially simulated Earth-gravity via centrifugation as a countermeasure. Dr. Mhatre earned her Bachelor’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, a Master’s in Cell Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, followed by a Ph.D. in Biology from Drexel University with a focus on modeling Alzheimer’s Disease in Drosophila melanogaster for testing pharmacological interventions. During her postdoctoral work at Stanford University, Dr. Mhatre’s research was centered on understanding cellular metabolic pathways, such as the kynurenine pathway, and de novo NAD+ generation in aging and Alzheimer’s pathology paradigm using murine and human cell models.
Chris Lewicki
Co-Founder and CEO
gravityLab
Chris Lewicki is an entrepreneur, engineer and “near-futurist” focused on the economic development of outer space. He is fascinated by exponential technologies, integrating ideas from disparate industries, and creating Space Infrastructure upon which generations of progress can be made. Chris predicts that Space Infrastructure will extend beyond traditional concepts of technology, and will also include new Economic Systems, and new mechanisms for governance of activities beyond Earth. He is most interested in increasing the in-space demand for infrastructure and services in space. Chris co-founded and as CEO led Planetary Resources, the asteroid mining company, launching satellites, creating new space policy, and changing the public discourse on space mining. He helped design, build and operate the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, as well as the Phoenix Mars Lander while at NASA. He is the recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, and has asteroid 13609 Lewicki named in his honor. He is Co-Founder and CEO of gravityLab, Entrepreneur in Residence at Mandala Space Ventures, Co-Chair of the Space Stream at XPRIZE, and is a Mentor for the Space Stream at Creative Destruction Labs.
