A Roadmap Strategy to Explore Near-Earth Objects: A Flexible Path Approach
- Paper number
IAC-10,A5,4,2,x6406
- Author
Mr. Rob Landis, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Paul Abell, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Tom Jones, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Daniel Adamo, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Ron Mink, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Dan Mazanek, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Langley Research Center, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. David Korsmeyer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Year
2010
- Abstract
{\bf ABSTRACT}: The idea of sending human explorers to asteroids is not new. Piloted missions to these primitive bodies were first discussed in the 1960s, pairing Saturn V rockets with enhanced Apollo spacecraft to explore what were then called ‘Earth-approaching asteroids’ (Cole, 1963 and 1964; Smith, 1966; Meston, {\it et al}. [editors], 1968). The United States has placed new priority on completing the near-Earth object (NEO) survey along with an emphasis on robotic precursor missions to these bodies. The development of a heavy lift booster also remains a priority, which is an early enabler for human expeditions to NEOs. To date, a small team across five NASA centers has identified 40 – 50 NEOs that are accessible for human exploration on a single launch Ares V heavy lift booster (Adamo, {\it et al}., 2010). NEOs represent a target-rich environment for exploration via the Flexible Path option articulated by the U.S. Human Spaceflight Review Committee (Augustine, {\it et al.}, 2009). We present a provisional roadmap that suggests an integrated forward path for international robotic and human missions to NEOs.- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)