From outer space to Earth—The social significance of isolated and confined environment research in human space exploration

Becoming John Glenn in the Words of John Glenn

During the summer of 2009, a flexible path scenario for human and robotic space exploration was developed that enables frequent, measured, and publicly notable human exploration of space beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). The formulation of this scenario was in support of the Exploration Beyond LEO subcommittee of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee that was commissioned by President Obama. Exploration mission sequences that allow humans to visit a wide number of inner solar system destinations were investigated. The scope of destinations included the Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun Lagrange points, near-Earth objects (NEOs), the Moon, and Mars and its moons. The missions examined assumed the use of Constellation Program elements along with existing launch vehicles and proposed augmentations. Additionally, robotic missions were envisioned as complements to human exploration through precursor missions, as crew emplaced scientific investigations, and as sample gathering assistants to the human crews. The focus of the flexible path approach was to gain ever-increasing operational experience through human exploration missions ranging from a few weeks to several years in duration, beginning in deep space beyond LEO and evolving to landings on the Moon and eventually Mars.

Avoiding costly delays in human space exploration: Historical perspectives on NASA programs

Goal-based operations, a form of operations that involves specifying what should be accomplished, as opposed to how operations are carried out, has the potential to significantly enhance human space exploration in a number of areas in both ground and space operations. Realizing this potential will require addressing several challenges, ranging from practical feasibility to operational reliability and user acceptance. We intend to provide a customer perspective and help address some of the challenges by: (1) highlighting general and specific challenges and opportunities that are consistent with human space exploration and that emphasize how goal-based operations might be of practical benefit to the human space exploration program; and (2) exploring ways to help increase confidence in goal-based operations. A strategy for building such confidence must consider: (a) incremental implementation of goal-based operations for increasingly ambitious operations leading eventually to high level goal-based operations, (b) the role of systems modeling in technology acceptance and infusion and (c) automation assessment tools for understanding how trust is developed, such as the Function-specific Level of Autonomy and Automation Tool (FLOAAT) developed by NASA/Johnson Space Center. We explore several challenges and opportunities for the near-term (International Space Station mission operations), the midterm (human lunar missions), and the long-term (human Mars missions), that illustrate the potential benefits of goal-based operations.

Science and human space exploration have historically developed as two entities independent from each other, where sometimes the interests of one community fight against those of the other, and where the achievements and budgets associated to human space exploration are seen as resources subtracted from science. However, science can benefit from human space exploration, and novel space missions designed on a global optimization, that balance both benefits for human space exploration and science, can constitute a new and financially sustainable approach for space exploration. The case for Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) represents a good example, as associated to NEAs there is a mix of activities that includes both science (ground and space observations, robotic space missions, advanced remote sensing) and human space exploration (and operations), along with technology development and testing. The case of NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) will be analyzed, starting with a focus on its original goals and ambitions, what it achieved, how it has been perceived from the scientific community and the industrial complex, how it evolved, and how it ended, with a final consideration on its heritage and lessons learnt.

Will the US remain the real leader of human space exploration? A comparative assessment of space exploration policies

Human space exploration is frequently judged as being one of the boldest (technical) endeavours, on which humankind has embarked in its history. It is often described with very lofty terms, especially when looking for arguments, why humans engage in human space exploration in the first place. The desire and even the necessity to go beyond the known in order to be able to grow, the wish or even the imperative to expand life into the universe, are just two arguments, which are often brought forward when discussing human space exploration. From this and similar arguments one may conclude that the focus of space exploration is not only on the scientific discovery of today’s unknown worlds. It is not just about enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the universe — how it looks today, how it developed and which laws govern its evolution. One could argue that besides these scientific achievements the attempt of the human to leave Earth and to travel into space is a manifestation of the “undefined striving into the open” as the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg describes the seemingly untiring driving force, which motivates human action.239 Thus, human space exploration must not only be seen as an outward journey. It also needs to focus on the human being itself, as the human being appears to be at the centre of this activity. This raises the question of who the human being really is, which can be understood as a question regarding the identity of a human being.

US space policy: still on hold?

American supporters of human space exploration, identified in this essay as space proponents, want the United States to pursue a policy of establishing human settlements on other worlds in the Solar System. Human space exploration is a matter of public policy because a substantial expenditure of public resources is necessary to achieve this goal. A new approach to this policy question can be realized by critically examining the fundamental assumptions and beliefs of the space proponents. The theory of myth-systems provides a means to examine these principles. This theoretical framework demonstrates that the space proponents lack insight into their beliefs, misinterpret political events associated with human spaceflight, and thus unintentionally narrow their perspective on how to achieve their goal.

Biomaterials for human space exploration: A review of their untapped potential

Long duration human space exploration demands unprecedented levels of automation, to carry the load of vehicle management for the new explorers, and assist their exploration work with new capability. Automated and robotic systems are probably sophisticated and sturdy enough to do this work -- but such systems have never been human-rated like all other NASA systems used in human space flight. We present here a perspective on architecture and requirements for the interfaces and interactions between human explorers and their array of automated systems; and we present a necessary approach to human-rate the systems for the space program: for surface operations as well as for in-flight monitoring and control. We continue to hope this topic will be an invitation to dialog and to consideration of a difficult issue that will face new generations of explorers and their supporters back on Earth.

As an emerging interdiscipline, space life science, generated and developed with human space, especially manned space exploration,, covering very wide research fields. In the past more than half a century, many significant findings and achievements have been achieved in this field, which not only supports the missions of manned space exploration, but also provides service for the life on the earth. With the continuous development of Chinese manned space and deep space exploration activities, especially the startup of Chinese manned space station project, the next two decades will be the prime time for the development of Chinese space life science. To conduct space life science, obtain new knowledge and innovative technology and provide further service for human space exploration, national economic and social development basing on Chinese manned space station and return type scientific satellite experiment platform, which need us to study and thinking systematically from the strategic perspective of subject development. By reviewing the historical and current development of space life science at home and abroad, this essay analyzes and prospects the strategic needs, key scientific problems and development direction of Chinese space life science, in order to provide inspiration and reference for its development.

This chapter analyzes the development of Japan's national space program, the oldest in Asia and the one with the closest ties to the United States. Historically, Japan has long been the most accomplished space power in Asia, receiving support from the Western nations after the Second World War. It has more than five decades of achievements in space science with extensive experience in human spaceflight under the direction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. However, Japan's space mandate formally excluded military space activities up until 2008, putting the country well behind leading powers in military applications and military operational experience. This all changed in 2008 when the Japanese Diet passed the Basic Space Law, which allowed military uses of space for the first time. This marks a major shift in attitudes toward space and has set off debates about the program's future direction.

Mr. Bridenstine's “To Do” List

While debate continues on whether the Moon, Mars, or Near Earth Objects should be the first or focal destination for resending humans beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), all agree that the human space exploration needs to be sustainable and affordable, and that new and innovative technologies and infrastructure are required. One approach NASA is developing that can significantly change how systems required for space transportation and sustained human presence are designed and integrated, as well as potentially breaks our reliance on Earth supplied logistics and enable space commercialization is In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). ISRU, or “living off the land”, involves the identification, extraction, and processing of resources at the site of exploration into useful products and services. In particular, the ability to make propellants, life support consumables, fuel cell reagents, and radiation shielding can significantly reduce the cost, mass, and risk of sustained human activities beyond LEO. Also, the ability to modify planetary surface material for safer landings, lower maintenance of surface transportation, dust generation mitigation, and infrastructure protection, placement, and buildup are also extremely important for long-term planetary surface operations. At first glance, it appears that the resources available and the environmental conditions on the Moon and Mars are different enough that close synergism between lunar and Mars ISRU technologies and systems and how they are incorporated into mission scenarios is not possible. However, upon closer examination, it can be shown that there are significant synergisms in ISRU technologies, systems, and operations between the Moon and Mars. Incorporating ISRU capabilities into lunar missions and using the Moon as a test platform for future Mars missions may also significantly reduce the cost, mass, and risk for both human exploration destinations while providing a logical stepping stone approach to achieving sustainable and affordable human exploration. This paper will outline past and current technology and system development efforts by NASA for lunar and Mars ISRU, and how using the precursor missions to the Moon and Mars can reduce the cost and risk associated with human lunar and Mars exploration.