The 21st Century,
science-driven agenda is designed to propel
exploration beyond the International
Space Station and involves a new habitation complex that would be built between Earth and the Moon, serving as a portal to Mars and other solar system targets.
A NASA Exploration Team (NExT) is prepared to showcase their springboard vision for returning to the Moon, visiting asteroids, and trekking on to Mars and beyond. At the upcoming World Space Congress to be held Oct. 10-19, an expected throng of some 13,000 officials from various nations will descend on Houston, Texas. This once-a-decade gathering provides a status report on global space prowess.
Step 1: New space hotel "We've been putting together a multi-disciplinary, long-term strategy a road map, along with defining the necessary strategic investments in key technologies," said Gary Martin, leader of NExT and assistant associate administrator for the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters. "We're looking at a stair-step of capability. Our first stair step is Earth's neighborhood." This approach will be discovery-driven and technology-enabled, with exploration involving the staging of future missions at the Earth-Moon Lagrange point, L1 -- a literal Gateway to the future of space exploration. A Lagrangian point -- also called a libration point in space -- is a spot at which a small body, under the gravitational influence of two large bodies, will remain somewhat at rest relative to them. In each system of two heavy bodies -- say the Sun and Jupiter, or Earth and the Moon -- there exist five theoretical Lagrangian points. The Earth-Moon L1 Lagrange point is at a distance of some 200,000 miles (323,110 kilometers) from the Earth, or 84 percent of the way to the Moon. NASA's Martin said the L1 Gateway, replete with a habitat for crew occupancy, is a good spot to support a locus of activity. Both
humans and their robotic partners can transform this zone into a bustling hub for testing hardware, supporting science operations, and as astronaut training ground to prep crews for long-haul sojourns into deep space.
Beyond L1 Sites on the Moon, for instance, can be easily accessed from an L1 Gateway. The same goes with travel to Mars or asteroid targets. Also, assembly, repair, and maintenance of a "telescope farm" of orbiting instruments can be done on site, then nudged over to the Earth-Sun L2 location.
"The L-points have become unique locations where you can do a lot of things," Martin said. "We found the more we look at them, the more nice things we find." Harley Thronson, director of technology and senior science lead for NExT, said the semi-stable L1 Gateway offers a number of attractive capabilities. For one, returning back to Earth in a hurry due to an emergency is possible. But it can also be the first step on the way to putting people elsewhere and sending them to even more distant places, he said. Many tasks would be automated. "Science facilities could be deployed, rescued, upgraded and checked out there by humans and telerobotic systemsor sent into deep space to other libration points throughout the solar system," Thronson said. Thronson stressed that NExT is not solely dedicated to dispatching human crews outward. Their work is geared to improve robotic capabilities, as well as enhance human attributes, particularly through improved space suits. Studies are also underway to investigate ways to bring human and machine strengths together.
Sights on Mars NExT has a strong track record for steering NASA to embrace several new initiatives. An in-space propulsion program is underway. A nuclear systems initiative is being pursued. Starting next year, a radiation program is scheduled to begin, said Lisa Guerra, Special Assistant to the Associate Administrator in the Office of Biologicaysical Research. Some of this work is essential in preparing for crewed missions to Mars. "It would be a combination of looking at radiation health issues with the crew and a program tied to the space station," Guerra said. "Ground research will also assess potential alternatives to active or passive shielding for future missions." Shoving off to places like Mars in speedier fashion -- through nuclear propulsion, as example -- can cut down crew exposure time to radiation. In addition, taking a fast route to the red planet also minimizes prolonged human exposure to the debilitating effects of microgravity. On the other hand, NExT is supporting research into artificial gravity. "A lot of the data we're getting on our space station increments will help determine performance of the crew in a six-month microgravity environment. If we could limit our missions to six months, with fast transit, then maybe you don't need artificial gravity," Guerra explained. NExT is nonetheless looking at a vehicle design using artificial gravity. As medical information matures, whether or not an artificial gravity initiative is required is a future decision, she said.
ISS: Technological teething The International Space Station is a workhorse for furthering NExT goals, Martin said. "It's a very necessary platform," he said. "The station is going to lay the groundwork not only on ways to protect against radiation, but also bone loss. We actually have a list of 55 critical roadmap items for humans to work safely and productively in orbit." The ISS serves as a technological teething place, where astronauts learn how to construct and maintain large scientific platforms with the help of robots. How to evolve to advanced "closed life support" systems becomes feasible too, Martin said. "We can't go to the next steps without the station," he added. What celestial port-of-call deserves first billing, the Moon or Mars? "NExT is science-driven. We will go where the science says it makes sense that we go," Martin said. "Mars is one of the most important scientific destinations where it looks like humans and robots will actually be helpful to the science research ... over time. But this doesn't end with Mars." NExT planning calls for "sustainable space capabilities." "We're not looking at planting flags, not being able to go back for 100 years," Martin said. "The systems we see would take humans to Mars, or to the asteroids. They are reusable systems that might be nuclear in nature, lasting upwards of 10 years and maybe used for three missions or more to Mars or to the asteroids at this point."
Can NASA do it? The blueprint for the years and decades to come is one of incremental buildup. There are decision points on how fast, and how far, space exploration can proceed. That enables testing of technologies to achieve greater reliability and understanding of costs for the next steps in exploration. Yet there is one omnipresent issue that NASA must deal with: Does the space agency even have the talent and tools to pull off a grand plan to move onward and outward? Martin admits the aging of NASA has taken a toll. "As plans become crisper and things become more near term, we're looking at skills needed, the core capabilities we need to protect, and what facilities are required. It's a part of the overall strategy that we're building," Martin said. "Probably the highest priority product of NExT has been the identification of technology priorities that we felt the agency had to invest in," Thronson said. "If we had one goal, it's delivering the tools to understand the technology and the options." That will permit managers and politicians to decide what NASA should do scientifically, robotically, and with humans in space. "And when they are ready to make the decision, we want to be there with the capabilities, the hardware, the understanding, the scientific goals so they can make those decisions wi
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