In June 1999, the NASA Administrator chartered an internal NASA task force, termed the Decadal Planning Team, to create new integrated vision and strategy for space exploration. The efforts of the Decadal Planning Team evolved into the Agency-wide team known as the NASA Exploration Team (NEXT). This team was also instructed to identify technology roadmaps to enable the science-driven exploration vision, established a cross-enterprise, cross-center systems engineering team with emphasis focused on revolutionary not evolutionary approaches. The strategy of the DPT and NEXT teams was to 'Go Anywhere, Anytime' by conquering key exploration hurdles of space transportation, crew health and safety, human/robotic partnerships, affordable abundant power, and advanced space systems performance. During the DPT and NEXT study cycles, several architectures were analyzed including missions to the Earth-Sun Libration Point, the Earth-Moon Gateway and Earth-Moon Libration Point, the lunar surface, Mars (both short and long stays), one-year round trip Mars, and near-Earth asteroids. Although there was much emphasis placed on utilization of existing launch capabilities, the team concluded that missions in near-Earth space are only marginally feasible and human missions to Mars were not feasible without a heavy lift launch capability. In addition, the team concluded that missions in Earth s neighborhood, such as to the moon, can serve as stepping-stones toward further deep-space missions in terms of proving systems, technologies, and operational concepts.


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    Title :

    Decadal Planning Team Mars Mission Analysis Summary


    Contributors:
    B. G. Drake (author)

    Publication date :

    2007


    Size :

    106 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English