Manned flights to space promise several rewards for the space industry and for humanity in general. Some of these rewards relate to the flight itself while others address themselves to the improvement in space exploration capabilities when man is present. First, manned flights require simpler flight control techniques and equipment since a human operator checks and adjusts flight parameters. The need for advanced equipment required for unmanned flights characterized by many sensors, actuators, and diagnostic tools reduces.

Figure 1. Development of New Space Vehicles: Manned Flight to the Moon and Mars

Development of New Space Vehicles: Manned Flight to the Moon and Mars is shown in Figure 1. The net effect is the reduction of vehicular costs since these controls form a substantial part of research and development costs of space vehicles. Secondly, the need for manned flights lies in the realization that technology, no matter how developed, never adequately substitutes human judgment. Space knowledge is still infantile to allow for a complete simulation of anticipated conditions informing the design of craft. Human presence reduces the mission risks associated with unpredictable situations and environments.

Thirdly, the presence of man either at the Moon or in Mars, a product of manned flight, will improve data collection and analysis capacity on site. While there have been great strides made in the exploration of space in the last half of the twentieth century, a great portion of the Moon and Mars remain unexplored. Armed with a space lab, an astronaut remains capable of performing many experiments and tests, and making many more observations than what a Lander can do, no matter how sophisticated.

The fourth reason necessitating manned flights to space is that development of requisite technologies will lead to innumerable spinoff advantages in various aspects of human life. Olla notes that space technology, “is used to provide services and fulfill the goals for people on earth” (413). Finally, man will not be satisfied to experience space behind the controls of sophisticated equipment millions of miles away. True scientific inquiry will drive man to seek to experience space through his senses.[1]

NASA’s human lunar exploration plans under Artemis call for sending the first woman and first person of color to the surface of the Moon and establishing sustainable exploration by the end of the decade. Working with U.S. companies and international partners, we will uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy. The agency will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare for humanity's next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.

It all starts with U.S companies delivering scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface, followed by a spaceship, called the Gateway, in orbit around the Moon that will support human and scientific missions, and human landers that will take astronauts to the surface of the Moon. The agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will be the backbone to build the Gateway and transport astronauts to and from Earth.

Humans on the Moon

NASA is working with commercial companies to design and develop human landers that will deliver the astronauts to the Moon, with the long-term goals of global lunar access and reusable landing system. Private sector innovation is key to NASA’s goal of sustainable lunar exploration and the agency’s many public-private partnerships are already advancing capabilities for human spaceflight in deep space while stimulating commercial activities.

NASA will begin to develop increasingly larger, more capable landers for humans that can carry more cargo and land more precisely. Future landers also will carry large roving instrument kits to locate life-sustaining and mission-enabling resources on the Moon, and collecting and returning samples to the Gateway.

NASA has partnered with industry to buy services that provide astronauts with next generation spacesuit systems to explore the lunar surface on Artemis missions and prepare for human missions to Mars. Selected vendors will compete for task orders to support missions and provide a full suite of capabilities for NASA’s moonwalking needs. This new approach of buying spacesuit services encourages an emerging commercial market for a range of customers, as partners will own the spacesuits and can explore non-NASA commercial applications for data and technologies they develop in collaboration with NASA.

NASA also has outlined a concept for how robotic and human explorers will put in place infrastructure for a long-term sustainable presence on the Moon. These include a lunar terrain vehicle, or LTV, to transport crew round their landing zone, a habitable mobility platform to allow crews to traverse the Moon for up to 45 days, and a surface habitat that would house as many as four crew members on shorter surface stays.

Looking to Mars

NASA also continues to work with companies to address the challenges of living in space, such as using existing resources, options for disposing of trash, and more. Missions to the Moon are about 1,000 times farther from Earth than missions to the International Space Station, requiring systems that can reliably operate far from home, support the needs of human life, and still be light enough to launch. These technologies will become increasingly more important for the 34 million mile trip to Mars.

Exploration of the Moon and Mars is intertwined. The Moon provides an opportunity to test new tools, instruments and equipment that could be used on Mars, including human habitats, life support systems, and technologies and practices that could help us build self-sustaining outposts away from Earth. Living on the Gateway for months at a time also will allow researchers to understand how the human body responds in a true deep space environment before committing to the years-long journey to Mars.[2]

References:

1. https://ivypanda.com/essays/development-of-new-space-vehicles-manned-flight-to-the-moon-and-mars/
2. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/overview

Cite this article:

Gokula Nandhini K (2023), Development of New Space Vehicles: Manned Flight to the Moon and Mars, AnaTechmaz, pp.462