HOUSTON, Texas - NASA has decided
to pursue a base on the Moon. The space agency rolled out today a strategy and
rationale for robotic and human exploration of the Moon--determining that a
lunar outpost is the best approach to achieve a sustained, human presence on
the Moon.
The
base would be built in incremental steps, starting with four-person crews
making several seven-day visits. The first mission would begin by 2020, with
the base growing over time, beefed up with more power, mobility rovers and
living quarters.
The
Moon base would eventually support 180-day lunar stays, a stretch of time seen
as the best avenue to establish a permanent presence there, as well as prepare
for future human exploration of Mars.
Here
at the NASA Johnson Space Center, space agency
planners detailed a global exploration strategy, outlining the themes and
objectives of 21st century lunar exploration and the hardware needed to regain
a foothold on the Moon.
NASA's
lunar plan also encourages participation by other nations, as well as
non-governmental organizations and commercial groups.
Location, location, location
"We're
going to go after a lunar base," said Scott Horowitz, NASA associate
administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The lunar base
will be the central theme in NASA's going back to the Moon effort, he said, in
preparation to go to Mars and beyond.
As
to where on the Moon such a post might be positioned--like real estate here on
Earth--it's location, location, location.
"What
we're looking at are polar locations...both the north pole and south pole," said
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale. Picking between the two poles will be
done once NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter begins surveying the Moon after its
launch in October 2008.
One
particular area that's already receiving high marks by NASA's lunar architecture
team is at the South Pole--a spot on the rim of Shackleton Crater that's almost
permanently sunlit.
"It's
also adjacent to a permanently dark region in which there are potentially
volatiles that we can extract and use," said NASA's Doug Cooke, Deputy
Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
Sphere of economic value
A
key technology yet to be defined is a lunar lander--hardware that can be used in
piloted or unpiloted mode to develop a capability on the Moon more rapidly.
"The more you can land the better it is," Cooke added.
The
lander will be designed to touchdown anywhere on the Moon...likened to a lunar pickup
truck, Horowitz said.
"The
door is wide open in terms of participation by internationals," Dale noted, and
that includes providing power, habitats, mobility on the lunar surface, as well
as technology to use the resources on the Moon to life off the land.
Dale
said that 2007 will feature "extensive dialogue with other countries" about the
ways in which they want to participate in exploration activities. "I wouldn't
see it evolving as the same way as the International Space Station," she told SPACE.com.
NASA's
lunar strategy is evolving from dialogue that has already taken place with 13
other space agencies, Dale explained. The framework for moving forward with
other nations will be put in place next year, she said.
A
Moon outpost would yield tangible science benefits, as well as enlarge the
sphere of economic activity beyond low Earth orbit, Horowitz suggested.
International participation
The
role of international cooperation in bringing the vision into sharper focus is
also being advanced by NASA chief, Mike Griffin.
For
example, on December 1, Griffin spoke to the British Royal Society in London, England and pointed to the
need for navigation infrastructure on the Moon for future explorers and
scientists.
Griffin spotlighted the
scheduled launch in 2008 of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with its laser
altimeter and other instruments that can produce an accurate global map of the
Moon for upcoming expeditions there.
"We're
still formulating our plans for providing communication and navigation for
future explorers on the Moon, but I can foresee NASA collaborating with other
spacefaring nations like the United Kingdom in providing such infrastructure," Griffin told the British
Royal Society.
NASA
has nearly 60 on-going space and Earth science missions, Griffin observed, and over
half of these missions have some form of international participation.
"Two-thirds
of all NASA missions currently under development incorporate international
partners. And of course, NASA's premier human spaceflight program, the
development of the International Space Station, is an effort involving some 15
nations," Griffin said.
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