To the Moon and Beyond!

1. To the Moon and Beyond! Bill Carswell, Ph.D. Freefall Associates Carswell@hiwaay.net January 19, 2004

2. President Bush’s Direction • Implement a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond; • Extend human presence across the solar system, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations; • Develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration; and • Promote international and commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests.

3. Guiding Principles • Pursue Compelling Questions of scientific and social importance • Our origins • Life beyond Earth • Across multiple worlds, not just Mars • Employ both human and robotic capabilities • Sustainable, affordable and flexible • This is now NASA’s highest priority

4. Key Elements • Space Shuttle: Retire by end of decade • ISS: Complete and refocus research • Crew Exploration Vehicle: By 2014 • Lunar Exploration • Robotic missions by 2008 • Humans by 2015-2020 • Technology Development: Power generation, propulsion and life support to enable long-term, deep-space human missions

5. Beyond the Moon • Conduct robotic missions to Mars, Jupiter’s moons, asteroids, others • Support future human missions • Understand the history of the solar system • Search for life • Search for resources • Telescopic searches for Earth-like and habitable planets in other star systems

6. Budgetary Considerations • Budget will increase 5%/year for the next three years • Will increase 2%/year (inflation) after • NASA annual budget is currently 0.7% of total Federal budget, with family equivalent of: • a month of cable • family trip to a movie • 15 cents per day

7. NASA Budgetary Reallocations • NASA will realign existing programs as necessary to enable the vision. • NASA will retire the Shuttle to free up billions of dollars in the next decade. • NASA will focus on tech innovations that reduce the cost of sustained space operations.

8. Long-Term Budget Planning NOTE: Exploration missions – Robotic and eventual human missions to Moon, Mars, and beyond Human/Robotic Technology – Technologies to enable development of exploration space systems Crew Exploration Vehicle – Transportation vehicle for human explorers ISS Transport – US and foreign launch systems to support Space Station needs especially after Shuttle retirement

9. What’s Next? • Presidential Commission: Peter Aldridge • To assess implementation (not value) • Report due in 4 months • Organizational Changes • Formation of Office of Exploration Systems • NASA will “reorganize as necessary” • Budget to be released on February 2

10. Milestones • Implement Vision; Reorganize NASA ~2004 • Initial Flight Experiments ~2006 • Crew Exploration Vehicle 1st Test Flight ~2007-8 • Start Annual Lunar Robotic Missions ~2008 • Retire Shuttle/Complete Station Assembly ~2010 • “Safe on Mars” Lander Mission ~2011 • Mars Robotic Sample Return ~2013 • Nuclear In-Space Power/Propulsion Demo ~2015 • Moon Human Landing ~2015-20

11. The Carswell Point of View (CPV) • At last: Return to the Moon!!! • It’s about expanding human civilization into the solar system • It’s about the long-term survival of the human race • Great nations must do great things: World powers wither that don’t explore

12. CPV — What to do on the Moon? • Oxygen production for fuel and air • Bulk structural materials preparation • Power generation (beam to spacecraft and to Earth) • Search for precious metals (asteroids) buried in the surface • He3 mining • Lunar geology (origins) • Astronomy (dark side and the poles)

13. Possible Marshall Roles • Crew Exploration Vehicle • Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Vehicle • Science • In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) • Materials for Advanced Propulsion • Radiation Shielding Materials • Biotechnology

14. Use ISS to Learn How to Live in Space • Continue improving our understanding of changes in the human body caused by living in space and develop countermeasures • Evolve from a resupply to a self-sustaining culture by developing more complete, self-contained, closed-loop life support systems, including plant and animal growth and waste recycling • CPV—Develop large human centrifuge • Prevent bone/muscle loss • Prevent vestibular problems • Eliminate recovery time from balance disorders (in case there is an emergency on landing)

15. What are Some of the Effects of Space on the Human Body? • Psychosocial effects • Dehydration/Kidney Stones • Weakened cardiovascular • Bone mass loss • Muscle atrophy • Compromised immune system • Balance Disorders • Radiation Risk (Lunar lava tubes)

16. Bonner Ball Neutron Detector

17. Phantom Torso

18. Exercise Countermeasures

19. Stowage and Resupply Only Bioregenerative Life Support Launch and Operations Cost 3 6 9 12 Mission Duration (years) Bring the Food or Bring the Farm?

20. CPV — Use ISS to Develop Enabling Technologies • Effects of space on exposed materials • In Space fabrication, repair technologies • Large rotating structures for artificial gravity • Large inflatable structures

21. Psychosocial Countermeasure Last week I got to photograph the soybeans. This experiment is growing in a completely enclosed environment, so I hadn't been able to see the progress of the growth…. It was surprising to me how great 6 soybean plants looked. I assumed it was because I like plants, but Valery and Sergey had the same reaction and even wanted their photos taken with the plants. I guess seeing something green for the first time in a month and a half, had a real effect. Sergey, of course, thought we should eat them as a salad. I managed to save the science and get them into the rack before he was able to eat them! From a psychological perspective, I think it's interesting that the reaction was as dramatic as it was…guess if we go to Mars, we need a garden!

22. The Soybeans (ADVASC)

23. CPV — Use ISS as Staging and Assembly Point • On-Orbit construction minimizes need for large heavy-lift vehicle, giving launch vehicle flexibility • Large shirt-sleeve hangar is advantageous • Hangar facility offers muchmore bang for the buck than a heavy lift vehicle • Lunacraft assembly • Satellite assembly/repair • Large generic workshop • Inflatable is an option, or….

24. CPV — Use The External Tank! • Skylab was cobbled together from Saturn spare parts • Repeat the Apollo success: Use Shuttle External Tank as a shirt-sleeve hangar

25. CPV — ISS Inclination is Advantageous • ISS is inclined 51.6º to equator • ISS orbital plane requires less energy to get to lunar polar orbit than does Earth equatorial orbit • Many interesting places on the moon are at the poles • Water • Radiation Shielding • Extended daylight hours • Astronomy and Astrophysics

26. CPV — Ad Luna Post Haste!!! • STS isn’t perfect, but it is capable • ISS isn’t perfect, but it is capable • A serviceable Earth to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) infrastructure is in place • Ideal vehicle for getting out of Earth’s gravity well is very different from ideal vehicle for moving around in space • Don’t rebuild the Earth-to-orbit vehicle, focus on a LEO-outwards vehicle!

27. CPV — Whither the ISS? • Space Hotel • Satellite assembly, deployment & repair • International users • Commercial and International Facility

28. One Day, Coming “Home”