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Critical Mars Mission Elements

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Human Missions to Mars

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Abstract

A number of critical technologies are needed for a human mission to Mars that require considerable further development. These include life support: environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), mitigation of radiation and low gravity effects, providing abort options, potential utilization of indigenous planetary resources, and human factors associated with long durations in confined space. While significant progress was made on ECLSS prior to 2005, there is little indication of progress in the past decade. NASA has made progress in understanding radiation effects but as more information accrues, the problem appears worse. Work on artificial gravity seems moribund. Use of simulated habitats in remote areas on Earth is helping to gradually understand issues associated with confined space. A vital need for a human mission to Mars is aero-assisted entry, descent and landing (EDL) of massive payloads. There is no experience base for landing payloads with mass of multi-tens of mT. Modeling by the Georgia Tech team indicates that the mass of EDL systems will be considerably greater than that assumed by NASA Design Reference Missions. Nevertheless, aero assisted EDL requires far less mass than EDL based on propulsion, and use of propulsion for EDL is probably unaffordable. Developing, testing and validating such massive entry systems will require a two-decade program with a significant investment. Based on past performance, NASA does not appear to have the discipline to follow through on such a program.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    NASA Technology Roadmaps. TA 6: Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems. May 2015 Draft.

  2. 2.

    “Solar Proton Events Affecting the Earth Environment 1976-present” http://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/SEP/.

  3. 3.

    NASA Human Research Roadmap: A Risk Reduction Strategy for Human Space Exploration, 2004, http://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov.

  4. 4.

    NASA ESAS Final Report (2005) http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=19094.

  5. 5.

    “The pull of artificial gravity” (2010) MIT News http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2010/artificial-gravity-0415.

  6. 6.

    “OPINION: NASA Needs to add some ‘weight’ to spaceflight” http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/editorial/opinion-nasa-needs-add-weight-spaceflight/.

  7. 7.

    “Clarke Station: An Artificial Gravity Space Station at the Earth-Moon L1 Point”, University of Maryland, College Park Department of Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Program, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/reports/CB-1106/maryland01b.pdf.

  8. 8.

    “2012 Habitable Volume Workshop Summary Presentation” http://www.houstonhfes.org/conferences/conference2013/Proceedings/HHFES%202013%20HV%20Workshop%20Thaxton.pdf.

  9. 9.

    “NASA Human Research Roadmap” http://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov.

  10. 10.

    Human Performance in Space: Advancing Astronautics Research in China, http://www.sciencemag.org/site/products/collectionbooks/HFE_booklet_lowres_12sep14.pdf.

  11. 11.

    “NASA’s Analog Missions: Paving the way for Space Exploration” (2011) NASA Report NP-2011-06-395-LaRC.

  12. 12.

    “An overview of recent and future Lunar/Mars habitat terrestrial analogs” http://www.agrospaceconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Pres_ASC_2014_Sadler_s5.pdf.

  13. 13.

    Charlie Stegemoeller (2011) “International Space Station Mars Analog Update” https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Stegemoeller_ISS_MarsAnalog_508.pdf.

  14. 14.

    Sasakawa Outreach, Living in Space: Considerations for Planning Human Habitats Beyond Earth, Vol. 1, No. 9: Oct.-Dec., 1988, (Special Information Topic Issue).

  15. 15.

    Larry Bell and Gerald D. Hines, PART IV: Space Mission And Facility Architectures, SICSA Space Architecture Seminar Lecture Series, http://www.uh.edu/sicsa/library/media/4.Space%20Mission%20and%20Facility%20Architecture.

  16. 16.

    Geoff Kibble and Jamey Jacob (2015) “Martian Greenhouse Design for the NASA Exploration Habitat Program” http://www.spacesymposium.org/sites/default/files/downloads/G.Kibble_31st_Space_Symposium_Tech_Track_paper.pdf.

  17. 17.

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  18. 18.

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    Donald Rapp

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Rapp, D. (2016). Critical Mars Mission Elements. In: Human Missions to Mars. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22249-3_5

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