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What are some challenges associated with a mission to Mars? - Trip time - round trip human expedition to Mars: 2-3 years (incl. time spent on the Red Planet) - Astronauts lose muscle and bone mass due to microgravity - Radiation exposure - How to provide enough supplies - How to store enough fuel
In 2020, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will fly to Mars as part of the Mars-2020 “Perseverance” rover’s experiment package, and for the first time will demonstrate the use of in-situ resources of another planet, by using the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars as a feedstock to produce oxygen. MOXIE, however, was not the first flight experiment proposed to test in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The Mars ISPP Precursor, “MIP”, was a flight experiment on the 2001 Mars Surveyor Lander that was designed to demonstrate In-situ Propellant Production--ISPP--for the first time on Mars. The experiment was designed to show that it was possible to produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide atmosphere, and to demonstrate the individual technology components that would go into a full-scale production plant. The aim point of the oxygen production was to showcase the possibility of producing oxygen for use as rocket fuel, ultimately as an enabling technology for a future human expedition to Mars.
Building upon the success of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landing and surface mission, the Mars 2020 project is a flagship-class science mission intended to address key questions about the potential for life on Mars and collect samples for possible Earth return by a future mission. [1] Mars 2020 will also demonstrate technologies needed to enable future human expeditions to Mars. Utilizing the groundbreaking entry, descent, and landing (EDL) architecture pioneered by the MSL, [2] [3] Mars 2020 will launch in July 2020 and land on Mars in February 2021.
When outfitted as a habitat, the SLS Core Stage Liquid Oxygen Tank is a pressure vessel that can be used to support human exploration in deep space. An exploration spacecraft can be constructed with this habitat, known as the Common Habitat, as its central element. More than just a transit vehicle, this spacecraft is a Deep Space Exploration Vehicle – a microgravity science laboratory capable of conducting research with onboard human crews throughout the inner solar system. Supplied with propellant by LEO depots, preliminary trajectory and v estimates indicate that the spacecraft can perform fly-by or orbital missions with trajectories close enough to the sun to intersect the orbit of Mercury or far enough away to fly by the main belt asteroid Vesta. Its primary mission, however, is to support human expeditions to Mars. Many, though not all, of the pressurized and unpressurized elements that compose the Deep Space Exploration Vehicle can also be used in surface base camps on the Moon and Mars. In additional to traditional space science disciplines, the spacecraft offers unique potential for small asteroid retrieval and for artificial gravity research. Three launches are used to deploy the spacecraft, but thirty-nine launches are used to deliver propellant to orbit to fully fuel the spacecraft for deep space missions. Key operations in a Mars crewed mission are described to illustrate how the vehicle is used and forward work is listed to mature the spacecraft concept.
This assessment was requested by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), which, based on findings from the NESC study “Safe Human Expeditions Beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO)” (Valinia et al., 2022), determined its topic to be an underrecognized critical and urgent Agency need, due to impending Artemis vehicle procurements. The principal objective of this assessment was to review and update current Agency-level maintainability requirements for space systems to support crew on expeditions beyond LEO in both preventive and corrective maintenance. This report contains the results of the NESC assessment.
Planning the logistics of multiple launches to support a Mars surface expedition requires good trajectory design tools. Traditional ballistic transfers are well characterized by performance maps known as pork-chop plots. However, the transportation of cargo can benefit from the use of low-thrust solar electric propulsion, both in terms of mass delivered and the flexibility of flight durations and dates. This paper describes the design and use of bacon plots (the low-thrust analog to pork-chop plots) and their application to the architectural design of a human Mars surface expedition.
AI advances in science can be viewed along two main directions with a fluid boundary: enhancing efficiency through automation and smart tools to accelerate tasks that humans can already perform; and enabling exploration into uncharted territories and potentially toward AGI. These advances manifest in the AI cognitive core through the development and explainability of foundation models; in the physical embodiment of instruments and facilities; and in the integrated agency of AI workflows exemplified by the science exocortex. To address the role of humans in this evolving landscape, in this Perspective, we suggest a third direction: the development of personalized agents that form human-centered networks, supporting both efficiency and exploration while ensuring that AI remains aligned with human vision.
This technical manual is an abridgement of the Generalizable Skills and Knowledge for Exploration Missions (NASA/CR-2018-22045) report (Stuster et al., 2019), describing research conducted under Cooperative Agreement 80NSSC18K0042 for the Human Factors and Behavioral Performance Element, Human Research Program, located at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Johnson Space Center. The research identified tasks that will be conducted by human crew during an expedition to Mars, and the abilities, skills, and knowledge that will be required of crew members. The 3-year study uses research methods that were developed to analyze the work performed by a variety of civilian and military occupational specialties and is consistent with Human Factors methods. The work began by developing a comprehensive inventory of 1,125 tasks that are likely to be performed during the 12 phases of the first human expeditions to Mars, from launch to landing 30 months later. Sixty subject matter experts (SMEs) rated expedition tasks in terms of (likely) frequency of performance, difficulty to learn, and importance to mission success; a fourth metric (criticality), was derived by summing the mean ratings of the three dimensions. Seventy-two SMEs placed the physical, cognitive, and social abilities necessary to perform the tasks in order of importance for specialist domains identified by the task analysis. The research team then identified: 1) Abilities, skills, and knowledge that can be retained and generalized across tasks and 2) Implications for crew size and composition. Study results also led to recommendations concerning equipment, habitats, and procedures for exploration-class space missions. Note: The full-mission task inventory was developed during a comprehensive review of documentation and concepts of operations. It was understood by the study team that the tasks were based on currently available information, and that the tools, equipment, propulsion methods, and/or other aspects of actual human expeditions to Mars might be different from those described here, as a consequence of technological development and evolving Mars Design Reference Missions. The purpose and scope of this technical manual is to present the core, actionable information that resulted from this research. The abridged format is intended to address the needs of development and research teams to quickly access, discern, and use the information in the course of their exploration-related work.
NASA s Constellation Program (CxP) will conduct a series of human space expeditions of increasing scope, starting with missions supporting the International Space Station and expanding to encompass the Moon and Mars. Although human-rating is an integral part of all CxP activities throughout their life cycle, NASA Procedural Requirements document NPR 8705.2B, Human-Rating Requirements (HRR) for Space Flight Systems, defines the additional processes, procedures, and requirements necessary to produce human-rated space systems that protect the safety of crew members and passengers on these NASA missions. In order to be in compliance with 8705.2B the CxP must show appropriate implementation or progression toward the HRR, or justification for an exception. Compliance includes an explanation of how the CxP intends to meet the HRR, analyses to be performed to determine implementation; and a matrix to trace the HRR to CxP requirements. The HRR requires the CxP to establish a human system integration team (HSIT), consisting of astronauts, mission operations personnel, training personnel, ground processing personnel, human factors personnel, and human engineering experts, with clearly defined authority, responsibility, and accountability to lead the human-system integration. For example, per the HRR the HSIT is involved in the evaluation of crew workload, human-in-the-loop usability evaluations, determining associated criteria, and in assessment of how these activities influenced system design. In essence, the HSIT is invaluable in CxP s ability to meet the three fundamental tenets of human rating: the process of designing, evaluating, and assuring that the total system can safely conduct the required human missions; the incorporation of design features and capabilities that accommodate human interaction with the system to enhance overall safety and mission success; and the incorporation of design features and capabilities to enable safe recovery of the crew from hazardous situations.
Progress in immunology continues to grow exponentially every year. New applications of this knowledge are being developed for a broad range of clinical conditions. Conversely, the study of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies is helping to elucidate the intricate mechanisms of the immune system. We have selected a few of the most significant contributions to the fields of basic and clinical immunology published between October 2001 and October 2002. Our choice of topics in basic immunology included the description of T-bet as a determinant factor for T(H)1 differentiation, the role of the activation-induced cytosine deaminase gene in B-cell development, the characterization of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells, and the use of dynamic imaging to study MHC class II transport and T-cell and dendritic cell membrane interactions. Articles related to clinical immunology that were selected for review include the description of immunodeficiency caused by caspase 8 deficiency; a case series report on X-linked agammaglobulinemia; the mechanism of action, efficacy, and complications of intravenous immunoglobulin; mechanisms of autoimmunity diseases; and advances in HIV pathogenesis and vaccine development. We also reviewed two articles that explore the possible alterations of the immune system caused by spaceflights, a new field with increasing importance as human space expeditions become a reality in the 21st century.
Formation flying is quickly revolutionizing the way the space community conducts autonomous science missions around the Earth and in space. This technological revolution will provide new, innovative ways for this community to gather scientific information, share this information between space vehicles and the ground, and expedite the human exploration of space. Once fully matured, this technology will result in swarms of space vehicles flying as a virtual platform and gathering significantly more and better science data than is possible today. Formation flying will be enabled through the development and deployment of spaceborne differential Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and through innovative spacecraft autonomy techniques, This paper provides an overview of the current status of NASA/DoD/Industry/University partnership to bring formation flying technology to the forefront as quickly as possible, the hurdles that need to be overcome to achieve the formation flying vision, and the team's approach to transfer this technology to space. It will also describe some of the formation flying testbeds, such as Orion, that are being developed to demonstrate and validate these innovative GPS sensing and formation control technologies.
Formation Flying is revolutionizing the way the space community conducts science missions around the Earth and in deep space. This technological revolution will provide new, innovative ways for the community to gather scientific information, share that information between space vehicles and the ground, and expedite the human exploration of space. Once fully matured, formation flying will result in numerous sciencecraft acting as virtual platforms and sensor webs, gathering significantly more and better science data than call be collected today. To achieve this goal, key technologies must be developed including those that address the following basic questions posed by the spacecraft: Where am I? Where is the rest of the fleet? Where do I need to be? What do I have to do (and what am I able to do) to get there? The answers to these questions and the means to implement those answers will depend oil the specific mission needs and formation configuration. However, certain critical technologies are common to most formations. These technologies include high-precision position and relative-position knowledge including Global Positioning System (GPS) mid celestial navigation; high degrees of spacecraft autonomy inter-spacecraft communication capabilities; targeting and control including distributed control algorithms, and high precision control thrusters and actuators. This paper provides an overview of a selection of the current activities NASA/DoD/Industry/Academia are working to develop Formation Flying technologies as quickly as possible, the hurdles that need to be overcome to achieve our formation flying vision, and the team's approach to transfer this technology to space. It will also describe several of the formation flying testbeds, such as Orion and University Nanosatellites, that are being developed to demonstrate and validate many of these innovative sensing and formation control technologies.
NASA's newly restructured Mars Exploration Program (MEP) is finally on the way to Mars with the successful April 7 launch of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter. In addition, the announcement by the Bush Administration that the exploration of Mars will be a priority within NASA's Office of Space Science further cements the first decade of the new millennium as one of the major thrusts to understand the "new" Mars. Over the course of the past year and a half, an integrated team of managers, scientists, and engineers has crafted a revamped MEP to respond to the scientific as well as management and resource challenges associated with deep space exploration of the Red Planet. This article describes the new program from the perspective of its guiding philosophies, major events, and scientific strategy. It is intended to serve as a roadmap to the next 10-15 years of Mars exploration from the NASA viewpoint. [For further details, see the Mars Exploration Program web site (URL): http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov]. The new MEP will certainly evolve in response to discoveries, to successes, and potentially to setbacks as well. However, the design of the restructured strategy is attentive to risks, and a major attempt to instill resiliency in the program has been adopted. Mars beckons, and the next decade of exploration should provide the impetus for a follow-on decade in which multiple sample returns and other major program directions are executed. Ultimately the vision to consider the first human scientific expeditions to the Red Planet will be enabled. By the end of the first decade of this program, we may know where and how to look for the elusive clues associated with a possible martian biological record, if any was every preserved, even if only as "chemical fossils.".
The surface of Mars once had abundant water flowing on its surface, but now there is a general perception that this surface is completely dry. Several lines of research have shown that there are sources of potentially large quantities of water at many locations on the surface, including regions considered as candidates for future human missions. Traditionally, system designs for these human missions are constrained to tightly recycle water and oxygen, and current resource utilization strategies involve ascent vehicle oxidizer production only. But the assumption of relatively abundant extant water may change this. Several scenarios were constructed to evaluate water requirements for human Mars expeditions to assess the impact to system design if locally produced water is available. Specifically, we have assessed water resources needed for 1) ascent vehicle oxidizer and fuel production, 2) open-loop water and oxygen life support requirements along with more robust usage scenarios, and 3) crew radiation protection augmentation. In this assessment, production techniques and the associated chemistry to transform Martian water and atmosphere into these useful commodities are identified, but production mass and power requirements are left to future analyses. The figure below illustrates the type of water need assessment performed and that will be discussed. There have been several sources of feedstock material discussed in recent literature that could be used to produce these quantities of water. This paper will focus on Mars surface features that resemble glacier-like forms on Earth. Several lines of evidence indicate that some of these features are in fact buried ice, likely remnants from an earlier ice age on Mars. This paper examines techniques and hardware systems used in the polar regions of Earth to access this buried ice and withdraw water from it. These techniques and systems will be described to illustrate options available. A technique known as a Rodriguez Well is assessed as a likely method for extracting water from these bodies of ice. The figure below is a sample of results from this assessment that will be discussed.
Developing a digital twin (DT) model involves different steps that encompass formulating requirements, model development, implementation, and assessment with respect to real applications. Human expertise is required to coordinate and implement different steps in the DT development and assessment process. However, certain parts of this process can be automated using artificial intelligence (AI) agents for efficient workflow development. In this work, we test and analyze a multiagent AI collaboration with humans in the loop to automate different elements of the DT development and assessment process. To implement the workflow for multiagent AI DT development and assessment, we use Autogen, a multiagent framework developed by Microsoft. Autogen offers a modular and flexible framework for configuring and designing task-specific multiagent workflows. In this framework, large language models (LLMs) form the core intelligence of the AI agents where the quality and performance of the automated element is governed by the inherent capabilities and knowledge base of the LLM. We use retrieval augmented generation to supplement the LLM with relevant domain-specific information for DT requirement formulation. We illustrate this multiagent workflow using a case study on a thermal energy storage system, focusing on how AI agents can collaborate with humans to expedite and optimize different elements of DT development and assessment process.
Advanced exploration and development in harsh environments require mastery of basic human survival skill. Expeditions into the lethal climates of Earth's polar regions offer useful lessons for tommorrow's lunar pioneers. In Arctic and Antarctic exploration, 'wintering over' was a crucial milestone. The ability to establish a supply base and survive months of polar cold and darkness made extensive travel and exploration possible. Because of the possibility of near-constant solar illumination, the lunar polar regions, unlike Earth's may offer the most hospitable site for habitation. The World Space Foundation is examining a scenario for establishing a five-person expeditionary team on the lunar north pole for one year. This paper is a status report on a point design addressing site selection, transportation, power, and life support requirements.
This paper describes several case studies of human space exploration, considered by the NASA's Office of Exploration in 1988. Special attention is given to the mission scenarios, the critical technology required in these expeditions, and the extraterrestrial power requirements of significant system elements. The cases examined include a manned expedition to Phobos, the inner Martian moon; a human expedition to Mars; the Lunar Observatory; and a lunar outpost to early Mars evolution.