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Planetary News: The Moon (2006)Planetary Society Welcomes NASA Proposal for Lunar OutpostBy Amir Alexander5 December 2006
NASA officials for the first time provided details of their plans for returning to the Moon, as specified in the Vision for Space Exploration. The emerging consensus among both engineers and scientists, they reported, points to the establishment of a permanent outpost at one of the lunar poles around the year 2024. The Planetary Society, which had long advocated the construction of a lunar outpost as a "way station" on the road to Mars, welcomed the NASA proposals. Nevertheless, Planetary Society Executive Director Louis Friedman expressed concern that too strong an emphasis on lunar settlement and exploration would divert NASA from the ultimate goal – a human mission to Mars and beyond. As outlined by NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Directorate Scott Horowitz, and Deputy Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Directorate Doug Cooke, the planning process is proceeding on two interdependent tracks. The first of these, the Global Exploration Strategy, is drawing input from NASA as well as from outside and international sources on the long-term goals of U.S lunar exploration. The Strategy involves consultations with academics, members of the private commercial sector, and private citizens, as well as the representatives of space agencies from Australia, Canada, China, Europe, France, Germany, the U.K., India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine Their complex discussions, involving more than 1000 individuals, focused on why humans are returning to the Moon, and what they would do once there. The second, track, the lunar architecture, is charged with proposing how humans can accomplish the lunar exploration goals suggested by the Global Exploration Strategy. Louis Friedman welcomed the Global Exploration Strategy, which could make the lunar outpost a joint venture of more than a dozen national and transnational space agencies. "It is great that NASA is now pursuing a global strategy for the Vision for Space Exploration," he said. "We had urged that from the beginning." Noting the renewed international interest in lunar exploration, the Society has called for an International Lunar Decade to begin in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik. According to Shana Dale, the Global Exploration Strategy arrived at no less than 180 different goals, which fit into 23 different categories that were in turn summarized in 6 themes:
After considering these themes, the lunar architecture team concluded that the best approach would be to build an outpost on the Moon that would eventually allow for extended human stays. By establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon, which could later be used as a model for a Mars outpost, the plan directly addresses the "Human Civilization" and "Exploration Preparation" themes proposed by the Global Exploration Strategy. It will also allow for global partnerships and for extensive scientific research of the Moon, conducted out of the outpost. The lunar architecture team cited several reasons for placing the outpost near one of the lunar poles. Such a location, they explained, does not suffer the extremes of heat and cold characteristic of other lunar latitudes, which makes it safer and easier to plan for. Some areas near the poles are also exposed to sunlight much of the time, which allows for extensive use of solar power, and for reasons of orbital dynamics it is relatively easy to take off from the poles as against other latitudes. From a scientific point of view, the lLunar poles are not as well known as other regions of the Moon, and provide an exciting range of research opportunities. One promising location proposed by the team is on the rim of Shackleton Crater, near the Moon's south pole.
According to the proposal the lunar outpost will be built incrementally during consecutive missions to the Moon, with early robotic reconnaissance followed by human landings. The earliest landings will carry four astronauts for short 7-day stays, and the durations will increase gradually as the construction of the human habitat progresses. In the end, astronauts will be able to stay in the outpost for 180 days at a time, providing for a more-or-less permanent human presence on the Moon, as well as training and experience for a future human mission to Mars. Responding to NASA's proposal, Louis Friedman pointed out that as far back as 2004 The Planetary Society came out with a proposal the construction of a "lunar way station" on the Moon. Bruce Betts, director of projects for The Planetary Society and lead author of the report, said, “an International lunar way station would build up international robotic assets at a given location, including precursors to human exploration. Then, humans would follow to that same location. Certainly, aspects of this concept, are represented in the new NASA architecture.” Addressing the specifics of the NASA plan, Friedman added: "The proposed lunar architecture offers a bit of everything for everybody -- which will not be possible." "NASA's role should be limited to that which is necessary to advance human exploration -- to Mars; the many other lunar activities should be pursued by user communities: international participants, other government agencies, and the private sector. NASA should never lose sight, or progress, toward the human exploration goal of Mars." |
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