Technological Challenges for an Extended Lunar Presence
- Paper number
IAC-07-B3.5.04
- Author
Mr. Karl E. Walz, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Headquarters, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Jitendra Joshi, United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Following the announcement of The Vision for Space Exploration in 2004 and the NASA Authorization act of 2005, NASA has determined the transportation architecture to ferry crewmembers and supplies to Low Earth Orbit, with the International Space Station (ISS) as its initial destination, and eventually to the Lunar surface. Concurrently NASA has also engaged various international space agencies, industry and academia to determine the themes and objectives for lunar exploration through the Global Exploration Strategy. In tandem with this activity, NASA also constituted the Lunar Architecture Team to determine a point of departure for the US lunar mission. By analyzing the proposed Lunar themes and objectives, in consonance with the salient aspects of the Vision for Space Exploration it was determined that NASA should embark on building an outpost near the Lunar poles. The past six human visits to the Moon have been to equatorial region. The current architecture has some similarities with the past missions, but also has some dissimilarity. This paper will focus on the broad technical challenges associated with human support technologies for a mission to the lunar Polar Regions. The challenges associated with Extra-vehicular activity, Life Support, Dust mitigation and control, Human-Robotic Interactions, Power management and Habitat Design will be discussed. Technical advances in these areas are essential for building and operating a sustainable outpost. The reliability of these systems will determine the overall life cycle cost and thus contribute to a long-term sustainability of extended human presence.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-B3.5.04.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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