The recent series of SpaceLand Research and Educational Flights has demonstrated how STEM disciplines (namely Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) can be paired up with Educational and Edutainment-related Space Tourism activities, generating profit for private investors as well as major return potentials on the host territories, together with important cultural, educational and sociological implications for the society.
The Lunar-gravity, Mars-gravity and Zero-gravity Flight Campaigns carried out by SpaceLand from 2005 to date with several crews of laymen, after proper selection and training activities both on ground and underwater, mainly served three purposes at the same time:
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1. Better understanding of the role of neurotrophins and specifically of NGF (nerve growth factor) in the physiopathological manifestation of stress and in pathologies associated to nervous and immune system disregulations, also to prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease) as commissioned by Italy’s CNR and Istituto Superiore di Sanità in collaboration with the group headed by L.Aloe and Nobel Prize Winner R. Levi-Montalcini of the European Brain Research Institute
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2. Contributing to develop of scientific foundations for a safe and productive human presence in space for extended periods of time, in preparation for space exploration of Moon and Mars, supporting international colony-forming programs for in-situ resource exploitation and science advancement)
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3. Strengthening the cultural and economical potential of space tourism-related initiatives with a comprehensive training and aerospace flight program open to everybody, from 11 years of age up to 93 years of age, with a whole range of cultural added-values, addressing space tourism as well as corporate incentives, team buiding and educational training and flight campaigns in Moon-gravity and Mars-gravity flight conditions. This way, a low cost Space Tourism ground and flight segment can be easily generated practically everywhere, for 12-month-year activities with induced business on the territory.
In order to best prepare masses of tourists interested in flying both for leisure and to support on-going science research and technology innovation activities in weightlessness and in low-gravity, a series of ad-hoc training facilities can be easily designed and developed by the SpaceLand engineering team to fit with the specific constraints of the host resorts, best adapting to the local sport, cultural and touristic facilities as available, possibly in synergy with a local airport for take-off and landing of the parabolic flight aircraft used by SpaceLand.
More details on the potential for financial returns attainable by supporting the growth of such an industry of "knowledge and adventure-related" tourism at the edge of science-fiction are presented in this paper. The experience gained in pilot programs developed by SpaceLand in the past years shall be shown to document the unique features of a Space-Age all-year-round ethical business with added valued in terms of culture, science and cutting-edge technology, generating value for shareholders and growth for the local economies.
In particular, details shall be shown on the high "return versus cost ratios", based on the experience of the SpaceLand program which, through relevant mass-media campaigns, has already selected, prepared and successfully flown the world’s youngest life-science test subject (11 year old) as well as the oldest "weightless man" (93 year old) and the first disabled woman in weightlessness, lunar-gravity and mars-gravity flight conditions: such records provide a clear evidence to demonstrate that low-cost space tourism can be opened to everybody, at any age, bringing about growth and wealth both to territories and investors.
In general, research in most discipline of life-sciences can be drastically accelerated when we take away the gravity-factor from cells and molecular compounds to study and test biological, chemical and physical behavioural patterns in weightlessness, benefitting from the high quality / cost ratio of the “flying laboratory” which SpaceLand engineers and scientists use to carry out cutting-edge experimental activities in microgravity and low-gravity conditions.
In particular, low-g and zero-g experimentation allows to speed up research, analysis, design, development, testing and qualification of equipment, systems, methodologies and processes related to all gravity-dependent chemical, physical as well as biological processes.
Similarly to what happens in the field of osteoporosis, muscular atrophy, proprioceptive and neuro-vestibular systems, cardiology and many other research areas, also neurobiology is a research area which can greatly benefit from research in varying gravity levels as well as in weightlessness.
This research demonstrates how hormones production and correlated neuro-biological functions are strongly affected by the environment generated by such flight conditions, providing a great deal of experimental results with potentially major implications on the progress in neurobiology, including possible breakthrough in the research against Alzheimer's and similar syndroms.
At the end of 2008, a SpaceLand research flight campaign in low-gravity and weightlessness was carried out for scientists coordinated by the Italian National Health Institute “Istituto Superiore di Sanità” (ISS) jointly together with theItalian National Research Center (CNR) and the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) - Rita Levi Montalcini Foundation, as related to the on-going analysis to understand the neurobiological mechanisms which are believed to pay the way to the onset of neurological pathologies such as the ones above mentioned.
Among the crew candidates, the 11-year-old Kim Marco was trained and qualified through tests in ground simulators as well as underwater at the SpaceLand Basic Training camp on the Olympic Alps in Italy and then at the SpaceLand Advanced Training Camp in Belgium before going to KSC Florida for Mission Training and Flight Campaign.
Sampling before, during and after the flight campaign was then carried out on all SpaceLand crewmembers including the 11-yr-old kid who thus became the world’s youngest life-science test subject flying for science, during this mission which featured so-called Moon-g (1/6 g), Mars-g (1/3 g), Zero-g and hyper-gravity levels during the flight (hyper-g being at approximately 2 g levels, where g equals 9,81 m/s2 ): the objective was to statistically gather data on quality and quantity of NGF, neurotrophines and hormones released by humans at different ages when subjected to mental and physical stresses before, during and after aerospace-flight-like situations.
The results hereby presented show an exponential increase in Kim Marco's neurobiological activity and a major output of neurotrophines with respect to adults, in particular the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF, discovered by EBRI-Founder Rita Levi-Montalcini, who won the Nobel Prize for such a discovery).
Children really look like to be the best test subjects for both ethically-concerned research aimed at understanding how to counteract brain degeneration syndroms as well as to prepare young astronauts for the future human colonies on Moon and Mars.
On next SpaceLand Flight, your experiment might be carried out: please write to us at SpaceLand (at) SpaceLand.it
