AstroHab - A Lunar Multidisciplinary Pre-Cursor-Mission preparing Exploration of Moon and Mars
- Paper number
IAC-07-A1.I.12
- Author
Mr. Matthias Dünne, OHB-System AG, Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Klaus Slenzka, OHB-System AG, Germany
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Exploration of life to the mars is one of the main goals of the scientific and public community at the moment. But living of humans in extreme environments requires sustainable closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) as well as knowing more about the impact of different environmental conditions (mainly gravity, magnetism and radiation) on biological processes in larger time scales. Additionally to contributing to humans ambition of exploring existing frontiers, activities serve as a technology and scientific driver in general. The development of CELSS will increase the amount of sustainable biological processes and technologies, of whom we can take advantage in our everyday life, and thus decreasing the non-sustainable acting of humans (mainly use of non-sustainable resources) in the closed biosphere Earth. Knowledge of the impact of environmental conditions on biological processes will help to clarify their role for humans life in general and diseases in particular. Essential steps before longer explorative missions (e.g. to the mars) are investigations in extreme environments on Earth, in LEO (ISS) and also a series of missions to the moon. Developed support technology can be verified without having exceeded the point of no return of astronauts. On the moon, environmental conditions are more stable and relevant than at the ISS. Thus, a first pre-cursor-mission to the moon will demonstrate the efficiency of developed life support technologies and increasing the knowledge about existing environmental conditions on the moon as well of their impact on biological and other processes. OHB-System, Bremen, Germany, is currently analysing in the Mona Lisa Initiative of German Space Agency DLR such a first pre-cursor-mission to push the preparation of longer journeys significantly. Analysis is performed together with a scientific team, whose members are coming from several disciplines. R\&D-Activities were started to develop main elements of CELSS. The general concept for AstroHab – the autonomous biological payload for this first pre-cursor-mission, was developed. AstroHab will consist of a biosolar energy supply unit as first CELSS-element, furthermore of an experiment bioreactor and a sensor unit, which will monitor the environmental conditions at the landing site as well as further experiment conditions in the bioreactors. An overview of AstroHab and the status of current R\&D activities will be given in Hyderabad.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-A1.I.12.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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