Manned Mission to Mars Research Papers (original) (raw)

Mars missions can be seen as a natural step in space exploration, as Earth-like environmental conditions and the length of the interplanetary flight are the most crucial for planetary exploration compared to other celestial bodies of the... more

Mars missions can be seen as a natural step in space exploration, as Earth-like environmental conditions and the length of the interplanetary flight are the most crucial for planetary exploration compared to other celestial bodies of the Solar System. On the other hand, these missions require detailed planning and worldwide collaboration, because of the need of extremely high financial resources and technical capabilities. Many researches focused on different aspects of Mars missions are being conducted in these recent years. They include flight preparation, lift-off, interplanetary journey, habitat and Life Support Systems (LSS) design, Extravehicular Activities (EVA), precise landing, planetary exploration, etc. This paper summarizes identified safety issues that can arise during future Mars missions. Based on the analysis of previous studies, where conditions of the interplanetary flight were studied, including environmental issues, Mars habitat and the spacecraft design were discussed and the spacesuit concept was analyzed, the most critical hazards have been defined and the whole mission has been taken into consideration. In particular, possible failures and hazards for the habitat on Mars, space station and spacesuit, including off-nominal situations and their influence on the safety of the astronauts have been investigated. This work is based on the results of previous projects carried out within the Space Generation Advisory Council's (SGAC) Space Safety and Sustainability project group, which aims to bring an international and interdisciplinary vision to this topic and discuss it from different perspectives, creating a foundation for further studies on safety risk assessment. Technological gaps are identified for further discussion and possible solutions for risks reduction are proposed with regard to onboard systems (including LSS) and layout design.

NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 pre-deploys cargo at Mars using low energy Type II transfer trajectories to support conjunction-class human missions that employ faster Type I transfer trajectories both outbound and... more

NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 pre-deploys cargo at Mars using low energy Type II transfer trajectories to support conjunction-class human missions that employ faster Type I transfer trajectories both outbound and inbound with stay times at Mars on the order of 500 sols. However, DRA 5.0 assigns mission assets associated with trans-Earth insertion to crew missions. These assets can be reassigned to cargo missions to achieve significant mass savings. The saved mass can be reallocated to provide early Earth return options for the crew. If an early return is not exercised, assets remain in Mars orbit to support later missions. The result is a more robust system architecture which enhances operational flexibility and crew safety, with a significant reduction in program launch cost. Nomenclature APM = Auxiliary Propulsion Module AU = Astronomical unit C3 = Earth departure energy DAV = Descent/Ascent Vehicle DRA = Design Reference Architecture DRM = Design Reference Mission ΔV = change in velocity GCR = Galactic cosmic radiation IMLEO = Initial mass in low Earth orbit IPS = Interplanetary Transfer Stage Isp = Specific impulse LEO = Low Earth orbit 1 Executive Director, 30 Edwards Avenue. LH2 = Liquid hydrogen Mbo = Mass at burn out MGA = Mars gravity assist MOD = Mars orbital depot MOI = Mars orbit insertion MST = Mars stay time NTR = Nuclear thermal rocket RCS = Reaction control system SHAB = Surface Habitat SLS = Space Launch System SPR = Solar particle radiation TEI = trans-Earth injection TMI = trans-Mars injection TOF = time of flight VE = Earth entry velocity VGA = Venus gravity assist

Exploration of the Mars is the preferential topic by space community. Especially NASA is willing to accomplish both robotic and manned Mars missions within 2020s. Before the human spaceflight, the demonstration of a practicable knowledge... more

Exploration of the Mars is the preferential topic by space community. Especially NASA is willing to accomplish both robotic and manned Mars missions within 2020s. Before the human spaceflight, the demonstration of a practicable knowledge management infrastructure prevents possible mission failures. In conjunction with the incremental responsibilities, the private sector requires well qualified young people to collaborate and support agencies and governments for future Mars missions. Therefore, the pa- per objectives to create a knowledge management (KM) approach by analysing (1) collaboration among universities, agencies and private sector and (2) young professional workforce development to support requirements of future Mars missions. In the meantime, the knowledge management approach and young professional development particularly focuses on the self-knowledge management. The self-knowledge management associates issues in the social and personality psychologies such as unconscious, introspection, accuracy, bias, experimental methods. The following objective of the paper is the integration of intangible outcomes of the self-knowledge management into the applicable knowledge management approach for NASA’s Mars Mission. The KM approach is constituted by following resources; (1) IPMC Young Professional Workshops, (2) NASA’s APPEL documents and Masters with Masters Programs (3) literature review about training and education and (4) Self-knowledge management studies. Results of the self-knowledge management are related outcomes such as motives and biases, decision making, un- conscious though and relationship outcomes. The literature review denotes challenges of current trends in training and development such as mobile learning, social learning and leadership development. IPMC YP workshops show practical applications of project management and system engineering from various organizations. Due to the recent studies of NASA, the potential KM approach involves gamification techniques and constructive scenarios for the Mars missions including technical and organizational issues. Gamification technique uses simulations to train young professionals by using previous mission failures. In addition, simulations allow hands-on experience for scientists and engineers visualize Mars within possible defailments.

Mars has been one of the most important celestial bodies that have been the focus of mankind. It has become a cornerstone for mankind's quest for the stars and as a result, many space agencies all across the world have put Mars Mission as... more

Mars has been one of the most important celestial bodies that have been the focus of mankind. It has become a cornerstone for mankind's quest for the stars and as a result, many space agencies all across the world have put Mars Mission as a main objective that needs to be achieved in the next two decades. The preliminary studies show that Mars Mission is quite probable within a mission envelope of 500 to 700 days. However, the life support as well as the power requirements of such a long mission would preclude using conventional propulsion methods as a way to achieve the Mars Mission. Moreover, there would also be a major power source requirement for the missions that need to be concluded on Mars, while the spacecraft is orbiting the body. Thus, by using techniques of nuclear propulsion, both of these objectives can be achieved with ease. With nuclear propulsion, it would be possible to handle the life support requirements as well as the overall power requirements of the mission. However, more importantly, it would be essential to increase the special impulse of the spacecraft using nuclear means, so that the transit time can be reduced as well. Hence, nuclear propulsion methods are the only means to complete such a mission within a reasonable frame of time and within reasonable operational considerations. Nevertheless, there are also several shortcomings to having a nuclear mission such as radiation shielding requirements, safety aspects, cooling aspects in microgravity, as well as fission kinetics control in microgravity conditions. In this paper, we will concentrate on solution to these problems by using non conventional nuclear propulsion techniques. We will use gaseous core reactor with Uranium Hexafluoride as a nuclear fuel. However instead of classic MHD shielding to
control the fission kinetics; we will use turbulent flow and pressure variations as a way to control nuclear reaction dynamics under microgravity conditions. In this paper, several CFD presentations will also be there, so that the flow
conditions in the reactor chamber will be shown to some degree of accuracy. Overall, through this analysis, a better mission profile for Mars can be developed, allowing for a less costly mission to take place within a reduced time frame. This way, more than one mission can easily be scheduled with the techniques described in this paper.

NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 pre-deploys cargo at Mars using low energy Type II transfer trajectories to support conjunction-class human missions that employ faster Type I transfer trajectories both outbound and... more

NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 pre-deploys cargo at Mars using low energy Type II transfer trajectories to support conjunction-class human missions that employ faster Type I transfer trajectories both outbound and inbound with stay times at Mars on the order of 500 sols. However, DRA 5.0 assigns mission assets associated with trans-Earth insertion to crew missions. These assets can be reassigned to cargo missions to achieve significant mass savings. The saved mass can be reallocated to provide early Earth return options for the crew. If an early return is not exercised, assets remain in Mars orbit to support later missions. The result is a more robust system architecture which enhances operational flexibility and crew safety, with a significant reduction in program launch cost.

The history of human Mars mission planning from the early 1950s through the 1960s is examined. For centuries, Mars has been an object of fascination and, since the 1800s, sciencefiction authors have imagined what it would be like for... more

The history of human Mars mission planning from the early 1950s through the 1960s is examined. For centuries, Mars has been an object of fascination and, since the 1800s, sciencefiction authors have imagined what it would be like for humans to travel to that planet. Space enthusiasts have shared this dream and as early as the 1950s were presenting feasible proposals for human missions to Mars. Since the creation of NASA, the Agency has maintained the idea of human Mars missions as an important long-term goal. Throughout its history, NASA has conducted studies aimed at landing an astronaut on Mars. NASA’s current strategic plan still includes this goal. Therefore, it is important to look at previous planning efforts to see what work has been accomplished and to discover lessons that future planners can apply to their programs.