ESA Large Diameter Ceentrifuge facility at ESTEC. Credits: ESA.
Astronauts' jobs sometimes weigh heavy on them: crews returning from space briefly endure 'g-loading' more than four times Earth normal. Scientists interested in hypergravity need to create it for minutes, days or even weeks at a time.
Fortunately, ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge does just that.
Based at ESA's ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the centrifuge is designed not for astronaut training but for research.
Jointly financed by ESA and the Dutch government, the centrifuge is available for a variety of applications.
"People propose all kinds of experiments - we assess them for scientific relevance, feasibility and safety," explained ESA's Jutta Krause.
"We perform physical, biological, geological and even astrogeological tests - one team investigated how crater impacts vary under higher gravity.
"In addition, the centrifuge is open for industrial users to test and qualify hardware."
"Last week, we hosted student teams from the latest round of 'Spin your Thesis', organised through ESA's Education Office."
The 8 m-diameter centrifuge can create up to 20 g, with four gondolas holding up to 80 kg of experiments.
Two more gondolas can be attached half way along the arm to provide different g-levels at the same time.
"Experiments can be spun for up to six months at a time non-stop, at changing g-profiles if needed," Jutta added. "After that, we have to stop for routine maintenance."
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