A Sustainable Approach to a Manned Mars Mission

Paper number

IAC-08.E5.3.5

Author

Mr. Gregory Scott, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Coauthor

Mr. Kris A. Romig, NASA Johnson Space Center, United States

Coauthor

Mr. Scott A. Stover, NASA Johnson Space Center, United States

Year

2008

Abstract

Humans interest in Mars spans back for millennia.  It is only recently with the advent of modern propulsion technologies that it has become within mankind’s ability to reach out and touch this fabled planet.  The development of a strategy to send humans to Mars has been the talk of many space agencies and space enthusiasts alike.  NASA’s long term space exploration initiative, the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), intends to put humans on the surface of Mars within the next 25 to 30 years. The goal of the European Space Agency’s Aurora program aims to put humans on Mars shortly thereafter.

In both cases, sustaining a human presence on Mars is essential for ensuring the long-term benefits that can be found in a mission of this magnitude. Repeating the “flagpoles and footprints” mission scenarios from the famed Apollo program will not suffice with Mars, largely due to extreme distances that must be traversed to get there.  Within this paper a mission scenario will be outlined that will successfully establish and sustain a human presence on the surface of Mars. This includes the primary objectives of developing the required infrastructure for the journey to and exploration of the Red Planet, as well as the safe return of the crew using advanced engineering, scientific, and operational concepts.  There are also numerous secondary objectives to this sustainable architecture, such as the search for aqueous environments, signs of past and present life on Mars, and the return of samples to Earth for detailed analysis.

This paper touches on all essential aspects of developing a sustainable manned Mars mission. The initial development of a GPS-style Mars Information Infrastructure to enhance the benefits of entry, descent and landing, as well as Mars-to-Earth communications which are essential for the landing of humans on Mars. Additionally, the exploitation of a continuous thrust propulsion system, such as the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rockets (VaSIMR) which, with the correct trajectories can reduce the transfer orbit time to Mars, while increasing the duration of the Mars surface stay. The utilisation of modular elements in the design will greatly reduce design and development costs while providing the opportunity for a plug-and-play surface architecture. These and many more considerations have been made in this design, from the required precursor missions, to the arrival of the first human settlers and the future recursive missions that are required to maintain an active human presence on Mars.

Abstract document

IAC-08.E5.3.5.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.E5.3.5.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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