Artemis Influence on Mars Planning

Abstract

NASA has several “Design Reference Missions” but they all are rather old, with the last Addendum to the 2009 version released in 2014. There could be another release soon that will be called the “2020” version. Hopefully, it will include the technologies that are flight-ready, or will be in the near future. As I discussed in previous books, NASA appears to be “hell bent” on using the Conjunction Class trajectory that will put a crew on the surface of Mars for a year and a half before catching a trajectory ride home. NASA has still not planned a detailed mission to the two small moons of Mars that would deliver a quantum leap in knowledge, in addition to being a huge jump in international acclaim and national pride. Such a mission could be conducted at least several years, if not a decade earlier than the current plan. Furthermore, such a mission could be many tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars less costly than a Conjunction Class mission. Be that as it may, what is the experience of Artemis likely to add to the mission planning for Mars? While NASA touts Artemis as the testing ground for a Mars mission, the ISS has been a testing ground for two decades. The JPL robotic missions have also added to NASA’s ability to plan intricate trajectories and the ability to upload complex mission planning instructions. Indeed, much of our knowledge of Mars has come from these outstanding robotic missions.

IMAGE LINKS

Fig. 8.1 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Rob_Mueller_and_Buzz_Aldrin_with_RASSOR.jpg

Fig. 8.2 https://media.wired.com/photos/5cc0d1ab93465b3c1df4629d/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/29467661583_b7ccd113ea_o.jpg

Fig. 8.3 http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/_elg6172.jpg

Fig. 8.4 https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lunar_base_made_with_3D_printing.jpg

Fig. 8.5 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Relativity_Stargate_3D_Printer.jpg/1280px-Relativity_Stargate_3D_Printer.jpg