NASA had rotating wheel station designs in 1962 for artificial gravity but shifted focus to the Moon via Apollo.
Ending these programs led to decades of zero-gravity stations causing health issues like muscle atrophy and bone loss.
Pre-Apollo Langley concepts included inflatable Goodyear torus and hexagonal rigid stations to avoid in-orbit assembly.
Apollo Applications program funded modest zero-gravity labs instead of ambitious rotating stations.
Modern modular stations face size packaging limits, suggesting need for inflatable habitats for large volumes.
Commercial firms like Vast plan artificial gravity stations by 2035 using spinning two-blade designs.
Advancing high-strength soft materials and inflatable tech is essential to realize large rotating habitats.
Artificial gravity stations are crucial for long-duration deep space missions and Mars transport.
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