Professionals Study Logistics: The International Space Station Traffic Model and Potential Implications for Lunar Exploration
- Paper number
IAC-18,B3,4-B6.4,1,x43986
- Author
Mr. Jacob Keaton, United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Coauthor
Mr. Jonathan Krezel, United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Year
2018
- Abstract
Every day since November 2, 2000, humans have lived away from their home planet aboard the International Space Station. While there, they have been conducting ground breaking research into the effects of the unique environment of microgravity on nearly every scientific discipline, including biology, biotechnology, materials science, and fundamental physics. They have also been developing and refining the technologies that allow humans to live and work effectively in space, including air and water recycling, early investigations into food production, and the physiological and psychological effects of long-duration spaceflight. Amid this host of benefits, both to future exploration and to humanity on Earth, the ISS International Partnership has also been developing, demonstrating, and refining a supply paradigm for keeping these crews fed, clothed, and productive in space. While the ISS currently recycles up to 90% of onboard water and up to 50% of onboard oxygen, it is still entirely dependent on resupply from Earth for every required consumable, for a total of approximately three metrics tons of supplies per crewmember per year. In 2018 this takes the form of between six and ten cargo resupply flights a year, using the American Dragon and Cygnus, Japanese HTV, and Russian Progress vehicles. This mix of vehicles balances necessary upmass with the ability to react to changing circumstances onboard to get needed parts on-orbit quickly, and has served the ISS Partnership and the ISS well. It is prudent to consider the implications of this resupply paradigm (the only modern example of sustaining human life in space) to a potential lunar orbit or lunar surface outpost. This paper will examine the ISS resupply logistics chain and extrapolate that to current proposals for lunar orbital and surface habitation, and suggest that the effort needed to logistically sustain four crew at the Moon for 30 days will be similar to that needed to maintain six crew on the ISS for one year.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)