Sustainable Living Through Space Exploration

Paper number

IAC-05-A5.P.01

Author

Ms. April Evans, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, United States

Year

2005

Abstract

In early 2004 the United States set forth goals to return to the moon by 2014 and have the first manned mission to Mars by 2030. Around this same time, European Union nations began to implement programs to help them meet Kyoto Accord emission limits. Both the space exploration and environmental communities are on the threshold of new eras that will require technical innovation and inspiration from new, non-traditional sources to meet new design challenges.  These challenges are more interrelated than they may first appear, and the two communities have a shared heritage that is often overlooked.  Space flight has allowed environmentalists to detect and measure the extent of global warming, monitor the depletion of the ozone layer, and track the affects of acid rain.  Human space flight has benefited in a similar manner from renewable resource technologies, such as water filtration and low-contaminating materials, designed for reductions in environmental pollution and waste.  For bases on the Moon and beyond, it will become increasingly necessary to create a self-sustaining closed-loop living environment.  Many of the technical constraints that drive space systems design, such as the need for regenerable energy sources, power-efficient mechanical designs, non- or low-offgassing synthetic materials, and closed-loop atmospheric systems, have terrestrial applications that can play a significant role in achieving environmental goals.  

This paper examines the common challenges between the environmental community and space explorers that link these two seemingly unrelated constituencies. This linkage is significant; not only can the environmental lobby add political support to the space exploration effort, but access to environmental resources can assist mission designers as they seek to build new habitats and laboratories on the moon and Mars.  Unmanned deep space probes requiring nuclear energy have been a recent source of controversy between the two constituencies. If the space industry could emphasize the common goals and outlooks the two groups share, this controversy would be diminished and possibly avoided.  The space industry would benefit from collaboration with environmental protection organizations, strengthening public support for space exploration and helping environmentalists’ efforts to enhance the general quality of life.  Aerospace industry leaders can gain a competitive advantage from knowledge gained through environmental research as well as improved public relations from an established environmental track record in space exploration.

Abstract document

IAC-05-A5.P.01.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-A5.P.01.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.