To the Moon or Mars?

40 years ago yesterday Apollo 11 blasted off from Earth on its way to its historic July 20 landing on the Moon. NASA has a big celebration campaign underway in honor of the anniversary. They recently released very nice partially restored Apollo 11 video footage in HD. One of the interesting things NASA is doing to commemorate the anniversary is replaying the mission audio in real time just as it was recorded from July 16-24, 1969. The NASA Apollo 40th website has all kinds of other goodies like lost audio and transcripts that are worth checking out too. For more blast from the past nostalgia with a modern twist, the website "We Choose the Moon" is also broadcasting the mission audio with other rich multimedia treats, including "live" twitter transmissions from the Apollo CapCom, spacecraft, and lander.

I have ambivalent feelings about the Apollo 40th anniversary. One one hand, I think this celebration to commemorate one of humanity's most significant and inspiring achievements is perfectly natural and warranted. On the other, it is a painful reminder that in the past 40 years we haven't pushed the envelope of human space exploration beyond low earth orbit. President Bush's 2004 Vision for Space Exploration policy has had significant effects throughout NASA as it reorganizes itself to return to the Moon and eventually reach Mars via the Constellation Program. The implementation of this new exploration strategy is not without its critics, and the Augustine Commision is currently conducting an independent review to sort out whether the approach needs adjusting.



One debate is whether the main focus should be on returning humans to the Moon or going to Mars. While I think we can and should do both, my preference is to have a space program with Mars as its primary goal. Mars is a more hospitable place and offers exciting science opportunities due to the presence of water and possibility for life. A human Mars mission poses unique challenges for technology development like protecting a crew on the long journey from radiation and bone/muscle loss. Plus, with companies like SpaceX and initiatives like the Google Lunar X PRIZE poised to revolutionize how we travel to low earth orbit and the Moon, I think government could better focus its attention on the more ambitious goal of reaching Mars. This doesn't preclude government returning to the Moon at all, but it means activities on the Moon should not be ends in themselves and instead should directly contribute to a Mars pioneering effort. In situ manufacturing the rocket fuel needed for a return journey will make a Mars mission affordable for a few tens of billions of dollars, so it is within our reach. We just need the collective will to do so. Yesterday on the NPR talk show On Point with Tom Ashbrook Mars Society President Robert Zubrin argued this point very convincingly (and plugged our FMARS mission). You may want to have a listen below or read his book.


I found Zubrin's analogy comparing the Moon with Greenland and Mars with America during the European age of exploration particularly apt. Although Greenland was certainly closer and easier to reach than America, no major colonization happened there because it's such a barren, inhospitable place. America had abundant resources available to support a pioneering population. Ultimately, the inventions created by Americans like democracy, electricity, telegraph (later telephone), railroad, etc. changed the world and Europe along with it. That kind of innovation was possible thanks to the challenges, opportunities, and resources America offered. The same kind of leap in human civilization can happen if we expand the frontier to Mars.

In other lunar news...

One very interesting thing that caught my eye today was a NASA press release showing some of the first images taken by the recently launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) camera. The pictures released today shows five of the six Apollo landing sites (only Apollo 12 wasn't imaged). The lunar modules are visible on the surface, and in at least the case of Apollo 14, you can also see footprints and equipment left behind. I wonder if the "scientific instruments" seen in this photo is the Apollo 14 seismometer. Very cool!



Finally, it's also of note that today marks the 34th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking. That mission was politically very important, and it marked the end of the Apollo era and beginning of the Shuttle era. As the Shuttle era is now drawing to a close, what will be the next chapter in the story of space exploration? It's up to us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insider tips on NASA's astronaut selection

Image
While NASA wraps up interviewing the second group of finalists to determine its 2013 class of ASCANs, the head of the NASA Astronaut Selection Office Duane Ross gave an illuminating presentation at JSC last Thursday about the selection process.  He covered questions ranging from academic degrees to interview questions, medical screening, and Russian language requirements. Pete Dimmick was among those present in the audience. Here are his notes from the event, reprinted with permission: Today I attended a lecture by Duane Ross and his protege, Anne Roemer. Duane has been the head of the astronaut selection process for 37 years and I had a few minutes to speak with them after the lecture was over. Here is what I found out about becoming an astronaut. I won't discuss so much the published requirements, rather I'll be focusing more on the insider things. There have been 257 NASA astronauts over the years and an applicant has a 0.6% chance of being selected. Of those no
READ MORE >>

Interesting Astronaut Statistics

Image
In my continuing quest to become an astronaut, I wanted to figure out what the "typical" astronaut's background is like, so I mined the NASA astronaut bios for information. I was interested in the educational, military, selection age, and spaceflight histories of the astronauts, so I focused on that information. I think the plots below speak for themselves, but if you'd like the raw data or have questions, please feel free to ask. Note that I only compiled information on NASA's 126 active and management astronauts. I didn't include the Payload Specialists, former, or international astronauts, although I might go back later and add them to the analysis. I learned that only 36% of astronauts have earned doctorate degrees, but most of the astronauts selected with only a masters or bachelors had extensive NASA and/or military experience. The typical astronaut has one bachelors and one masters degree, although some do have more than one of either type of de
READ MORE >>

NASA selection begins!

Image
NASA opened the 2015-16 astronaut selection opportunity on USAJOBS . Applications are due February 18, and details are on astronauts.nasa.gov . Good luck to all who apply! I wrote an article called " The Astronaut Hopeful's Manifesto: An Applicant's Guide " on Forbes with some advice to applicants. Check it out!
READ MORE >>