Evaluation of a Human Mission to Mars by 2033 (original) (raw)
Next Stop Mars: The Why, How and When of Human Missions
Journal of Aeronautics & Aerospace Engineering, 2018
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Human Mars Exploration Research Objectives
Mars has long been the ultimate goal for human space exploration. This paper will compile research objectives relevant to a Martian presence in an attempt to create a coherent justification for human expeditions to Mars. It will organize these objectives in a balanced human spaceflight architecture driven by a platform of research objectives inclusive of engineering research, pathfinding for commercial operations, and scientific research domains. It will then propose a Martian campaign that allocates sufficient manpower, surface stay time, and equipment to accomplish these objectives. Finally, it will demonstrate how such a campaign is not an Apollo-reminiscent "flag, footprints, and forget about it" venture but is instead a preparation for a relevant, long-term human endeavor on Mars, including linkage of initial Mars exploration to continued exploration of the planet and additional human exploration further into the solar system.
Roadmap to a human Mars mission
Acta Astronautica, 2014
We propose a new roadmap for the preparation of the first human mission to Mars. This proposal is based on the work of ISECG and several recent recommendations on human Mars mission architectures. A table is proposed to compare the possible benefits of different preparatory missions. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of qualifying important systems thanks to a heavy Mars sample return mission. It is shown that this mission is mandatory for the qualification of Mars aerocapture at scale-1, EDL systems at scale 1 and Mars ascent. Moreover, it is a good opportunity to test many other systems, such as the heavy launcher and the transportation systems for the trips beyond LEO. These tests were not mentioned in the last ISECG report. This strategy is facilitated in the case of the simplified Mars mission scenarios that have recently been presented because it is suggested that relatively small vehicles with small crew sizes are used in order to optimize the payload mass fraction of the landing vehicles and to avoid the LEO assembly. An important finding of the study is that a human mission to the surface of the Moon is not required for the qualification of the systems of a human mission to Mars. Since affordability is a key criterion, two important missions are proposed in the roadmap. The first is a heavy Mars sample return mission and the second is a manned mission to a high Earth orbit or eventually to the vicinity of the Moon. It is shown that both missions are complementary and sufficient to qualify all the critical systems of the Mars mission.
The Exploration of Mars: Crew Surface Activities
Space 2000, 2000
Surface activities of the first Mars mission crew, as suggested in phase I of the NASA HEDS reference mission, are discussed in this paper. The HEDS reference mission calls for a two phased approach. In phase I, humans supported by robotic systems will explore the Martian surface, collect and analyze geologic, geophysical, and meteorological data, search for potential permanent base sites, and conduct technology verification experiments. In phase II, a Mars base site will be selected, and the building of a permanent human base will be initiated. In this report two complementary architectures are portrayed. First, a permanent base for 3-6 people consisting of an ISRU unit, two nuclear power systems, a green house, and inflatable habitats and laboratories, built inside adobe structures. Second, a reusable, and resupplyable methane propelled very long range type traverse vehicle capable of collecting and analyzing data, and repairing and deploying scientific payloads during its planned 150 days 4800 km traverse. The very long range traverse vehicle will carry smaller rovers, crawlers, blimps, and an air drill capable of quickly reaching depths beyond 100m. The report presents a global vision of human activities on the surface of Mars at a programmatic level. It consists of several vignettes called "concept architectures" We speculate that these activities will facilitate a phase I Mars exploration architecture.
2016
To continue to build broadly based consensus on the future of human space exploration, the Fourth Community Workshop on Achievability and Sustainability of Human Exploration of Mars (AM IV), organized by Explore Mars, Inc. and the American Astronautical Society, was held at the DoubleTree Inn in Monrovia, CA., December 6-8, 2016. Approximately 60 invited professionals from the industrial and commercial sectors, academia, and NASA, along with international colleagues, participated in the workshop. These individuals were chosen to be representative of the breadth of interests in astronaut and robotic Mars exploration. AM IV built upon the three previous Affordability and Sustainability Workshops (i.e., AM I-III) held in 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively. Those previous workshops assessed and reported on the affordability and sustainability of multiple scenarios for human exploration of Mars. For that reason, our organizing committee concluded that the 2016 workshop would concentrate specifically on achieving critical capabilities (or "long poles") in human exploration of Mars. Nine expert teams were established and each was charged with assessing the achievability of one major element common among scenarios for initial human missions to Mars. Included in each assessment, each of which was critically reviewed during the workshop and which is reported on here, are such characteristics as key elements of the long pole and the length of time required for development, venues for demonstration, precursors, and scenarios that take advantage of the long pole.
Mars Direct: Humans to the red planet by 1999
Acta Astronautica, 1992
Mars Direct", is an approach to the space Exploration Initiative that allows for the rapid initiation of manned Mars exploration, possibly as early as 1999. The approach does not require any on-orbit assembly or refueling or any support from the Space Station or other orbital infrastructure. Furthermore, the Mars Direct plan is not merely a "flags and footprints" one-shot expedition, but puts into place immediately an economical method of Earth-Mars transportation, real surface exploratory mobility, and significant base capabilities that can evolve into a mostly self-sufficient Mars settlement. This paper presents both the initial and evolutionary phases of the Mars Direct plan. In the initial phase, only chemical propulsion is used, sendig 4 persons on conjunction class Mars exploratory missions. Two heavy lift booster launches are required to support each mission. The first launch delivers an unfueled Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) to the martian surface, where it fills itself with methane/oxygen bipropellant manufactured primarily out of indigenous resources. After propellant production is completed, a second launch delivers the crew to the prepared site, where they conduct regional exploration for 1.5 years and then return directly to Earth in the ERV. In the second phase of Mars Direct, nuclear thermal propulsion is used to cut crew transit times in half, increase cargo delivery capacity, and to create the potential for true global mobility through the use of CO 2 propelled ballistic hopping vehicles ("NIMFs"). In this paper we present both phases of the Mars Direct plan, including mission architecture, vehicle designs, and exploratory strategy leading to the establishment of a 48 person permanent Mars base. Some speculative thoughts on the possibility of actually colonizing Mars are also presented.
Space Policy
A mission to Mars is both inevitable and potentially of great value, argues the author of this Viewpoint, but for a variety of reasons-financial, technical and political-it is feasible only as an international cooperative venture. Several models of international cooperation already exist, but perhaps the Association of Space Explorers, with its membership drawn from 18 spacefaring nations, and the proposed International Space Exploration Institute offer the most promising avenues for taking the project forward.
Eyes on the Red Planet: Human Mars Mission Planning, 19521970
NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N, 2001
This document was first published as a thesis for a Master of Arts degree at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in May 1999. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to thank Dr. Roger Bilstein and Dr. Peter Bishop for their guidance with this project. Gratitude is also expressed to the scientists and engineers from JSC who encouraged me to conduct this study, especially David Weaver, Eileen Stansbery, and Kent Joosten. Special thanks are given to NASA personnel and retirees who participated in oral history interviews and gave me background on the Space Exploration Initiative