NASA has been building a $60 billion Space Launch System (SLS) rocket over the last six years, designed to, among other things, one day take humans to Mars. But until now, that "Journey to Mars" plan has been largely up in the air, with no public details. Till now...
Image courtesy: Fox Studios
On Tuesday Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA¡¯s chief of human spaceflight, briefed the the space agency¡¯s advisory council on what its current plans are for the rocket¡¯s first few launches. Aside from test flights of the SLS and Orion spacecraft (the crew pod that would sit atop the massive rocket) as well ass fulfillment of other transport mission goals, the plan is to culminate in a manned mission to orbit Mars in 2033. All of these involve NASA first building ¡°deep space transport¡± infrastructure to support future missions.
NASA plans to first test the SLS and Orion together in 2018, while a subsequent mission will have the rocket propel the Europa Clipper spacecraft to it¡¯s namesake, Jupiter¡¯s moon Europa, in 2022. Once that¡¯s done, NASA plans to take its first real steps towards landing humans on the moon, and that involves building a space outpost near the Moon. According to Gerstenmaier¡¯s description, this structure, called the Deep Space Gateway (DST) would be smaller than the International Space Station and would be tended to over time by astronauts passing through, though none would live there.
Three of the massive SLS rockets would be required to install the gateway in space, slotted for between 2023 to 2025. The first would install a 40kW power and propulsion system into space near the Moon, while the second would arrive about a month later with the actual habitation module to be attached. Finally, would come the logistics module to help direct and carry out future launches. All of these manned missions would eventually result in a sort of space rest stop, from which missions can blast off for much further locations.
However, Gerstenmaier insists NASA is only laying the foundation of the project, not carrying it out entirely solo. ¡°This program requires the private sector to contribute significantly, and it requires international partners,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re creating a framework, but to make this real, it requires real participation from others.¡± Not only is NASA asking scientists worldwide to collaborate on ideas, it¡¯s also putting out a call to private sector spaceflight companies to chip in.
The Deep Space Gateway (L) - NASA
Once the gateway is established by (hopefully) 2025, NASA would hopes to move on to developing a Deep Space Transport (DST) system for humans beyond the Moon. For the agency, this means a self-reliant 41-ton (approximately 37,200 kg) spacecraft, complete with its own power systems, habitats, farms, and water recyclers, that would house astronauts on their long voyage into deep space. If everything remains on track in the next decade or so, the agency believes this Deep Space Transport craft can be ready by 2027.
Around 2029, NASA would then have four astronauts live onboard the DST for 300 to 400 days, as it sits in space near the Moon, in order to test the craft¡¯s systems for an extended flight to Mars. ¡°That verifies that the vehicle you will take to Mars has operated for one year, and it¡¯s ready to go do its three-year requirement," Gerstenmaier said.
If everything checks out, the early 2030s would see NASA launching additional logistics modules and fuel reserves to the DST. Then, in 2033, the plan is to finally send the transport vehicle to orbit Mars, by way of a Venus flyby. That flight is expected to take about three years, including a short stay in orbit around Mars. That plan doesn¡¯t yet involve actually landing on Mars.
There¡¯s no way to get the crew back home without Mar¡¯s gravity to swing the ship around. Should any emergency occur on board the transport vehicle, once it leaves lunar space, the crew on board is doomed.?
If all of this sounds too good to be true, it is to some extent. NASA currently evenly lacks the capability to send its own astronauts on routine missions to the ISS, instead relying on other space agencies and US private sector craft to get into Earth orbit. However, Journey to Mars has been the agency¡¯s dream for over a decade, and the plan is theoretically rock solid. It¡¯s in the execution that the problems lie.
NASA¡¯s SLS rocket is just about ready, as is the Orion spacecraft, but now is the time for hardware for a potential DSG to be developed. And with the designing of those habitat and power modules for the outpost, comes the question of price.
President Trump has already made it clear that he wants to see the US carry out manned missions to Mars as soon as possible. With Elon Musk¡¯s SpaceX on a similar 2023 timeline, NASA has to convince the Trump administration to provide it with the funding it needs to build the necessary infrastructure around the Moon.
And yet, a partnership with commercial spaceflight companies might just be the best thing for the agency. Not only have organisations like SpaceX and Blue Origin repeatedly proved their capability to build spacecraft at a cheaper rate, but the division of funding and labour might even, with proper NASA supervision, help accelerate that timeline by a year or so.
Whether or not NASA does succeed in having humans orbit Mars for the first time, the plans do give us a fascinating look at the agency¡¯s thought process, as well as its long-term goals focused on not just exploration but extended study as well.