Mars missions are fundamentally different from lunar missions. Use of the Moon would provide some risk reduction for Mars, but not in proportion to the investment required. ISRU on the Moon is vastly different than ISRU on Mars. Despite previous work, the feasibility and cost of human missions to Mars remains murky. DRM-1 and DRM-3 pointed the way toward Mars missions in the 1990s. DRA-5 emerged around 2009 providing a broad analysis of several mission options, but only a summary was published. As of 2014–2015, NASA adopted the Evolvable Mars Campaign. The general approach involved developing “evolutionary capabilities” but it seems likely that the EMC was just another NASA boondoggle based on vague and ephemeral notions using glossy viewgraphs, lacking detailed engineering calculations. It will end up being scrapped for good reasons, as NASA moves on to its next long-range plan. In the 2019–2022 period, a top-down edict from NASA management refocused on short- stay nuclear powered missions. This is likely to murky the picture further. The critical advanced technologies needed to enable human missions to Mars include reliable ECLSS and long-term life support systems, large-scale aerocapture and aeroassisted entry, descent and landing, long-term cryogenic propellant storage in space and on Mars, methane-oxygen propulsion systems, nuclear reactor for surface power, radiation protection, mitigation of reduced gravity, and ISRU and/or nuclear thermal propulsion.
Why the NASA Approach Will Likely Fail to Send Humans to Mars for Many Decades to Come
Springer Praxis Books(formerly: Springer-Praxis Series)
2023-01-02
35 pages
Aufsatz/Kapitel (Buch)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Why the NASA Approach Will Likely Fail to Send Humans to Mars for Many Decades to Come
Springer Verlag | 2015
|Mars life less likely, says NASA
Online Contents | 2000
Planetary protection and humans on Mars: NASA/ESA workshop results
Elsevier | 2008
|Planetary protection and humans on Mars: NASA-ESA workshop results
Online Contents | 2008
|WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS - NASA 'water' find will shape exploration plans for decades
Online Contents | 2004