NASA lunar outpost concepts
History
1958 Lunex Project
The Lunex Project, conceptualized in 1958, was a
1959 Project Horizon
Project Horizon was a 1959 study regarding the United States Army's plan to establish a fort on the Moon by 1967.[5] Heinz-Hermann Koelle, a German rocket engineer of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) led the Project Horizon study. It was proposed that the first landing would be carried out by two "soldier-astronauts" in 1965 and that more construction workers would soon follow. It was posited that through numerous launches (61 Saturn Is and 88 Saturn C-2s), 245 tons of cargo could be transported to the outpost by 1966.
On 8 June 1959, the US Army's Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) organized a task force called Project Horizon to assess the feasibility of constructing a military base on the Moon.
Project Horizon proposed using a series of Saturn[6] launches to pre-construct an outpost while in Earth orbit, with the intention of subsequently delivering and landing the completed assembly on the Moon. Additional Saturn launches each month would then ship supplies to the inhabitants.[6]
1984 Johnson Space Center lunar outpost concept
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (December 2011) |
In 1984, with the Space Shuttle in service, a team based at the Johnson Space Center made a feasibility study for NASA's return to the Moon. It anticipated later studies in using NASA's planned infrastructure – the Shuttle, a Shuttle-derived heavy lift vehicle, a space station, and an orbital transfer vehicle – to build a permanent 18-crew Moon base sometime between 2005 and 2015.[7]
Design details
The Space Shuttle was to have transported the empty 21,000-kilogram lunar lander and payload to the space station, where they would rendezvous with the 100 ton propellant module.
The first objective was the creation of a small semipermanently crewed "camp" on the lunar surface in 2005-2006.
NASA was to have launched a lunar orbiting space station in 2008-2009 to support the creation of a permanently crewed moonbase by 2009-2010.
This operational surface base would have contained an expanded mining facility, lunar materials processing pilot plants and a lunar agriculture research laboratory; pilot oxygen production and experimental mining facilities would have been landed previously.
The lunar surface facility would have grown to an 18-crew "advanced base" in 2013-14, consisting of five habitation modules, a geochemical laboratory, chemical/biological lab, geochemical/petrology lab, a particle accelerator, a radio telescope, lunar oxygen, ceramics and metallurgy plants, two shops, three power units (90% lunar-materials derived), one earthmover/crane and three trailers/mobility units. The ultimate goal would be a self-sustaining moonbase by 2017-18.
The following were the names of vehicles or mission steps associated with the JSC Moon Base:
- Mapper and L-2 Relay Satellite. Development: 1992-1996. First launch: 1996.
- Surface Explorer Rover. Development: 1995-1999. First launch: 1999.
- Expendable Lander. Development: 1995-1999. First launch: 1999.
- Network and Regolith Science. Development: 2002-2004.
- Manned Capsule / OTV. Development: 1999-2003. First launch: 2003.
- Expendable Ascent Stage. Development: 1999-2003. First launch: 2003.
- Lunar Orbital Facilities. Development: 2004-2008. First launch: 2008-2009.
- Camp, temporary manned. Development: 2000-2004. First launch: 2005-2006.
- Base, permanent manned. Development: 2004-2009. First launch: 2009-2010.
- Advanced Base. Development: 2008-2013. First launch: 2013-2014.
- Self-Sustaining Base. Development: 2012-2016. First launch: 2017-2018.
1989 Space Exploration Initiative 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars
1992-1993 First Lunar Outpost
1993-1994 International Lunar Resources Exploration Concept
The International Lunar Resources Exploration Concept (ILREC) was a proposed mission architecture under President George H. W. Bush's Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) by Kent Joosten, an engineer at Johnson Space Center. The plan would have used the help of international partners, mainly Soviet Union, to assemble a lunar base and sustainable lunar transportation service. The program was not able to get off the ground as it was proposed at the end of SEI's very short lifespan with the only surviving project being Space Station Freedom (now the International Space Station)
2005 Exploration Systems Architecture Study
The Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) is the official title of a large-scale, system-level study released by NASA in November 2005 in response to American president
2006 Reference Architecture
On 4 December 2006, NASA announced the conclusion of its Global Exploration Strategy and
A reference architecture was established for this outpost, based on a location on the rim of the
Other locations considered for possible lunar outposts included the rim of Peary crater near the lunar north pole and the Malapert Mountain region on the rim of Malapert crater.
The outpost design included:
- Habitation modules
- Solar power units
- Unpressurized rovers
- In-Situ Resource Utilization(ISRU) unit
- Surface mobility carrier
The outpost would have been supplied by a mixed crew and cargo Altair lander, capable of bringing four astronauts and a payload of six tons to the Moon's surface.
As planned, an incremental buildup would begin with four-person crews making several seven-day visits to the moon until their power supplies, rovers and living quarters were operational. The first mission was envisioned for 2020. This would be followed by 180-day missions to prepare for journeys to Mars.
Later development
George W. Bush's Vision for Space Exploration was eventually replaced with President Barack Obama's space policy.[9]
Updated plans envisioned
2008 Concepts Study
On 6 June 2008, NASA announced a set of six research opportunities and requested proposals for research funding in response to the announcement.[14] The overall budget for research conducted as part of this "Lunar Surface Systems Concepts Study" was believed to be $2 million. Proposals were selected and contracts awarded in August 2008 by the NASA Constellation Lunar Surface Systems Project Office (LSSPO).
2010/2011 surface system concept review
The LSSPO was established at the
2017/Present: Artemis program
The Artemis program is a planned
Justification
This section needs to be updated.(November 2019) |
In the words of former NASA Administrator, Michael D. Griffin,[16]
The goal isn't just scientific exploration. ... It's also about extending the range of human habitat out from Earth into the solar system as we go forward in time. ... In the long run a single-planet species will not survive. ... If we humans want to survive for hundreds of thousands or millions of years, we must ultimately populate other planets. Now, today the technology is such that this is barely conceivable. We're in the infancy of it. ... I'm talking about that one day, I don't know when that day is, but there will be more human beings who live off the Earth than on it. We may well have people living on the moon. We may have people living on the moons of Jupiter and other planets. We may have people making habitats on asteroids ... I know that humans will colonize the solar system and one day go beyond.
Lunar Gateway
A station in lunar orbit can serve as a communications hub, temporary habitation module, and holding area for rovers and other robots intended for an outpost on lunar ground.[17] NASA leads a proposal for such a station, titled Lunar Gateway. The omnibus spending bill passed by Congress in March 2018 provided NASA with $504 million for preliminary studies during the 2019 fiscal year.[18] The final funding amount enacted by Congress was slightly lower at $450 million.[19]
Criticism
This section needs to be updated.(November 2019) |
Criticisms come from groups that want the human exploration money diverted to Mars, from those who prefer uncrewed exploration, and from those who simply want the money spent elsewhere. The criticisms listed here mostly predate the discovery of significant amounts of polar water ice.
Columnist Gregg Easterbrook, who has reported on the space program for decades, has criticized the plans as a poor use of resources. He writes that
Although, of course, the base could yield a great discovery, its scientific value is likely to be small while its price is extremely high. Worse, moon-base nonsense may for decades divert NASA resources from the agency's legitimate missions, draining funding from real needs in order to construct human history's silliest white elephant.[22]
According to Easterbrook, the billions of dollars that a lunar colony might cost should instead be devoted to exploring the
Buzz Aldrin, the second of twelve men to have walked on the Moon, disagrees with NASA's current goals and priorities, including their plans for a lunar outpost. While not necessarily opposed to sending people back to the Moon, Aldrin argues that NASA should concentrate on a human mission to Mars and leave further lunar exploration and the establishment of a base there to a consortium of other countries under U.S. leadership.[23] In a July 2009 editorial in the Washington Post, he said that NASA's Vision for Space Exploration "is not visionary; nor will it ultimately be successful in restoring American space leadership. Like its Apollo predecessor, this plan will prove to be a dead-end littered with broken spacecraft, broken dreams, and broken policies." He continued by saying that:
the lunar surface ... is a poor location for homesteading. The moon is a lifeless, barren world, its stark desolation matched by its hostility to all living things. And replaying the glory days of Apollo will not advance the cause of American space leadership or inspire the support and enthusiasm of the public and the next generation of space explorers.[24]
See also
- Lunar Architecture (NASA)
- Exploration Systems Architecture Study
- Project Constellation
- Artemis program
- Vision for Space Exploration
- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- Colonization of the Moon
References
- ^ "Your Guide to NASA's Budget". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ "America to the Moon by 2024 - NASA's FY 2020 Budget Amendment Summary" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- ^ O’Shea, Claire (2023-04-03). "NASA Names Astronauts to Next Moon Mission, First Crew Under Artemis". NASA. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ "Lunex". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Dept. of the Army, Project Horizon, A U.S. Army Study for the Establishment of a Lunar Military Outpost, I, Summary (Redstone Arsenal, AL, 8 June 1959). See also: Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations
- ^ a b Please refer to Saturn (rocket family).
- ^ "JSC Moon Base 1984". 2008-12-04. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "NASA Unveils Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture". 2006-12-04. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ^ a b Dale, Shana (2006-12-04). "Exploration Strategy and Architecture" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- S2CID 206525375.
- ^ Microsoft Word - lunar_architecture.DOC
- ^ Moonbase: In the Dark On Lunar Ice | Space.com | 26 December 2006
- ^ "NASA Authorization Act of 2008 - Section 404 - Lunar Outpost". Library of Congress. 2008-09-27. Archived from the original on 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Exploration Systems Mission Directorate - Lunar Surface Systems Concepts Study". NASA. 2008-06-06. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Lunar Surface Systems Concepts Study - Compilation of Briefings" (PDF). NASA ESMD.
- Washington Post. September 25, 2005. pp. B07.
- ^ Jackson, Shanessa (11 September 2018). "Competition Seeks University Concepts for Gateway and Deep Space Exploration Capabilities". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- Space News. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
- ^ Dreier, Casey (February 15, 2019). "NASA just got its best budget in a decade". Planetary.org. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (December 11, 2006). "Moonbase Why". The Space Review.
- ^ "Don't colonize the moon". Los Angeles Times. December 10, 2006.
- ^ Gregg Easterbrook. "Moon Baseless: NASA can't explain why we need a lunar colony". Slate. Dec. 8, 2006.
- ^ Buzz Aldrin and David Noland. "Buzz Aldrin to NASA: U.S. Space Policy Is on the Wrong Track Archived 2009-07-14 at the Wayback Machine." Popular Mechanics August 2009.
- ^ Buzz Aldrin. "Time to Boldly Go Once More. Washington Post. July 16, 2009.
External links
- "Exploration strategy and architecture" (PDF).
- Lunar outpost trailer (NASA) Archived 2007-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (.MOV)
- Nasa proposes lunar outposts
- Why the Moon?
- lunar architecture
- Lunar, Martian and Planetary Architecture
- OpenLuna Foundation OpenLuna.org outpost planning page