The Italian Space Agency (ASI) has announced a new initiative to develop an orbital platform designed to generate artificial gravity. The project aims to support scientific research and technology development for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planetary bodies.
ASI plans to begin a consultation process with the scientific and technological community later this month. The agency intends to collect research requirements and potential use cases for the platform, which will support experiments ranging from microgravity to conditions found on the Moon and Mars.
The preliminary concept for the platform involves a modular design capable of hosting small experiments, each occupying the volume of a few CubeSat units. ASI has identified research areas such as life sciences, fluid dynamics, materials science, and planetary exploration technologies.
The agency notes that the current list of research applications is not exhaustive and invites further proposals. Previous efforts in this field include the German Aerospace Center's Eu:CROPIS satellite, which launched in December 2018 to test life support systems through rotation-based artificial gravity.
