Set your goals for Space Exploration

[MasterSith]

What are you doing?, or have you done in the past to facilitate Space Exploration?

What paths can you suggest?

Cheers,
Brett

I have just written a book, which should be out in about 10 days, that advocates the New Space Movement. I am doing everything I can to get the average person, who is not a space nut, to at least understand and appreciate how the space industry positively affects their everyday life. Knowledge is power, and there are far too many people who just don't get it, who just don't understand how important space has been, is, and will be to the future of human existence. My hope is to persuade as many people as possible to vocally support and demand that we look at space as the major solution to human growth (economically, educationally, socially, etc), to their friends, family and governmental representatives.

I plan to turn this book into speaking opportunities so I can address businesses, colleges, high schools, whatever else, in an attempt to reach as many ears as possible. Fortunately, I have connections with Fox News and a few other media outlets to spread the word, so I'll hit the ground running.


Douglas Mallette
http://thespaceadvocate.blogspot.com/
Author: Turning Point (available Oct 09)

 

[PlanetIdiot]

short term (less than 10 years):
Study closed ecosystems, ie how would a space colony remain self sufficient
Study ways of reducing launch costs
Study advanced propulsion
Send robotic missions to various planets and moons

medium term (less than 25 years):
Study closed ecosystems, ie how would a space colony remain self sufficient
Study ways of reducing launch costs
Study advanced propulsion
Send robotic missions to various planets and moons

long term (25 years plus):
Build self sufficient space colonies
Build self sufficient colonies on mars, ganymede, titan, the moon, etc. and in the clouds of venus (depending on what's the most feasible given the results of the last 25 years of exploration)
Send robotic missions to other stars thanks to advances in propulsion

 

[dd75]

Short term: 10 years
R&D to find a way to propel an object without losing mass. Newtons third law is a ridiculous way to propel an object. The sooner we get rid of rockets the better.

Mid term: 20 years
R&D to make microfusion motors to power spaceships for a long time. This is only useful if we invent a way to propel using energy instead of using mass to propel.

Long term: 30 years
R&D to make superluminal speeds possible.

 

[eDigger]

Some initial thoughts: the main problem we have now is huge energy required to overcome gravity holes. On Earth we have a spaceport and ability to go free. Other planets are off limits for now, because we do not have enough infrastructure there. So we need to jump start with objects having lowest possible gravity force - asteroids.
For instance, we can only crash the lunar transfer stage to the Moon surface, while for asteroid we can effectively land it and use empty tanks as a habitat or storage. Space elevator for asteroid is almost trivial to build. Finally, asteroids are natural vehicles and outposts to go beyond the Mars orbit - and those vehicles are "loaded" with resources already. Plus we have enough technology to go to the near Earth asteroid right now.
So, let's forget about Mars for another century. Mars is just another expensive gravity hole with no spaceport and no infrastructure. Asteroids, Moon, Phobos - these are primary targets.

Short Term
1. Land on near Earth asteroid, deploy robotic tools and science hardware, leave third stage as a habitat
2. Based on results of the first expedition develop in-situ resource utilization and construction technologies for asteroids and the Moon (2 years)
3. Start construction of the permanent base on the Moon using robotic technologies

Middle Term
1. Build permanent research base/settlement on near earth asteroid (two year crew shifts)
2. Return humans to the Moon
3. Start simple production cycles on the Moon and the asteroid base (like fuel, other expendables, construction materials)

Long Term
1. Using asteroid base as a transfer vehicle expand human presence to Mars satellites
2. Start extra terrestrial high technological production (like solar panels, space vehicles, etc)
3. Start construction of a large space habitat

 

[ittiz]

Short Term
1. Start utilizing nuclear propulsion for spacecraft.
2. Go to the moon and begin construction on a permanent base.
3. Start to develop flexible technologies for exploring other bodies in the solar system.

Middle Term
1. Start to go to and analyze asteroids.
2. Test new technologies for exploration on the moon.
3. Go to Mars, and begin construction of a base there.

Long Term
1. Mine asteroids for their resources
2. Visit and analyze all of the large bodies in the solar system.
3. Do in in depth study on Mars looking into the possibility of terraforming it.

 

[Lancelot_64]

1. Concentrate on forming a military presence in space. (Navy sounds good to me)
2. Concentrate on new propulsion technology and or mode of travel
3. Concentrate on new propulsion technology and or mode of travel

Beyond mars.. we will need different methods of travel.
I feel we are taking all the correct steps at present, but personally I am always disappointed in how long it takes to discover new technology breakthroughs. Practice implementation of exploration equipment on the Moon and Mars but we need to have a proper transport capability to make our future brilliant..

I applaude the ones who have mentioned bringing an asteroid into earth orbit.. Lets just make sure no terrorist can send it slamming into the earth.. It would be so easy to set an impactor into collision course with the earth, having catastrophic results.. With other countries racing towards having space abilities this is one of my top concerns...

 

[elroy_jetson]

!. Finish building Ares launch system, Orion capsule, and related equipment.

2. Establish permanently manned lunar outpost.

3. Expand lunar outpost.

4. Build lunar research facilities.

5. Continuously improve Ares launch vehicles, Orion capsules, and related hardware.

6. Manned rendezvous with an asteroid for study.

7. Establish a space station at the Earth/Moon L1 point. Ideally, a ringed station with centrifugal gravity spinning around a central low-g docking hub. Station to serve as habitat, port, and transfer station.

8. Next generation shuttle enters service. A robust bird, capable of reaching LEO, powered landings, "fuel & fly" turn-around, and heavy payloads. Used for LEO assembly of infrastructure (for LEO and beyond). Ares/Orion is not retired, indeed, this system bears little resemblance to the original design (due to constant design improvement).

9. A shipyard established at Earth/Moon L1. Build a true inter-planetary spacecraft. Hell, build a fleet!

10. Establish a beach-head on Mars.

11. And so on.

 

[Jawamaster]

Short Term
1) Mars Direct -- colonization of Mars with scientific exploration
2) Carry out the "Asteroid" research/mining on Phobos and Deimos while at Mars
3) Fill in the gaps with a Moon base and scientific exploration

Medium Term
1) Design and construct Space Elevators
2) Utilize Lunar material to construct O'Neil colonies
3) Utilize Martian moon material to construct another O'Neil colony there

Long term
1) Explore and Settle Jovian moons
2) Construct an O'Neil colony there
3) Explore and settle the rest of the Solar System, constructing O'Neil colonies
4) work on interstellar flight capabilities


Well, you asked. Logical? Probably not. But I would love to see it!

 

[kelvinzero]

Thank you all for your responses, they have been both enlightening and at times humourus.

I now have a follow-up question.

I recently read a book which has prompted me into doing a bit more with my life. As a 30-something married with 2 kids, state government worker in South Australia, I an unsure how/what I can do to make any of my hopes and dreams for Space Exploration possible.

What are you doing?, or have you done in the past to facilitate Space Exploration?

What paths can you suggest?

Cheers,
Brett

Im not sure, but there are several space advocacy groups that might have a better idea.
If nothing else, just buying their merchandise probably would make a fair difference. (and if you are interested in the subject it is win-win, since they often have some interesting books on sale). They may have social activities too.

Here is a wiki link to a list of space advocacy groups:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_advocacy

Myself, I am most interested in small, concrete advances in ISRU and artificial biospheres. I would like to see more scholarships and prizes in this direction.

(edit)
Here are a couple of australian groups: (I dont know anything about them)
http://www.asri.org.au/web/
http://www.nssa.com.au/

 

[tchad]

Dear Brett:
Perhaps you could summarize what you think are the most sensible doable goals proposed by all the responders.

 

[nova2009]

My predictions of future space exploration:

Short Term
Chinese completed returning humans to the Moon around 2020 by landing Taikonauts on the Moon to establish the first human Lunar base.

Mid-Term
Indian completed landing the first humans on Mars by 2030.

Long-Term
Nigerian (Africans) establishes the first manned colony on Mars by 2050.

Much Longer-Term
Australian ab-origins (original native Australians) colonize the entire Solar System and declare the first Galatic Empire for humans by 2100.

 

[brettc4]

Based on tchad’s suggestion, here is a brief summary of the goals mentioned:

Colonize the Moon: 15
Colonize Mars: 13
Colonize other space bodies: 8
Mine (Near Earth) Asteroids: 12
Space station in Earth Orbit: 12
Robotic missions the planets/moons/asteroids: 13
Creation of Fuel Depots: 3
R&D (various): 14
Develop Space Elevator: 7
Develop New launch vehicle: 4
Space Law: 1
Terra-form Mars: 3
Search for life: 1


Star Wars References: 1
Star Trek References: 3

Also of note is strong opposition to developing on any body with a large gravity weel due to the Energy needed for escape.

Brett

 

[wtrix]

For me the space exploration is only about one thing - colonizing other worlds and spreading human race round the galaxy. Anything else is science and shall be funded by organizations, making the studies.

Thus. First and foremost- Nasa shall be reorganised to space assets management organization that buys in the transportation services from private companies. It also shall be buying in research in spaceflight and aeronautics related issues, but not conduct those researches themselves.

Now the objectives. Colonization of space is far more difficult as colonization of a continent. Thus, one needs preparation. We're currently reparing for lengthy human missions with ISS, and we learn a lot of doing that. Continuous learning from long missions in ISS is the main short term objective

There's no reason, the preparation of Moon colony shall be done by humans. That is why NASA must prepare specialized on-ground preparation robots and design settlement preparation missions. That includes:
1. Creating specialized robots for different tasks. I.e. landing site preparation, settlement preparation, water gathering and storage etc.
2. Creating partly autonomous ("fasten that bolt", "replace that handle" style orders) humanoid-like servicing robots that are capable of servicing other technical items up there
3. Creating in-orbit spacecraft assembly architecture based on excisting heavy lift rockets (up to 25 tons - essentially ULA proposal) and invoking competition in space transportation
4. Starting to prepare the human settlement on the moon
5. Starting to inhabit humans on the moon

Long term prospects
1. Make moon settlement self-sustainable (food, water)
2. Make moon settlement technically self-sustainable (clothes, elementary metalwork)
3. Make moon settlement a supplier (maglev launcher track, serious mining of precious materials)
4. Start preparing a Mars colony the same way the Moon colony was prepared


But one thing is clear. With current space access technologies (throw a multi-million dollar vehicle away every time you get there) the space access is limited to few. Thus, more money shall be invested in long term prospects in order to get to orbit with reasonable costs. That means investing heavily in Space elevator research and in SSTO spacecraft design (as risk reducer).

 

[wayfaerer]

All right, let's see here...

Short term (10-25 years):
1. Develop a SSTO spacecraft. I'm sick of this throw-out-half-the-rocket-every-time crap.
2. ORBITAL FUEL DEPOT. Not only would this be totally awesome, it would give us some idea of how to deal with things like pumping fuel into a ship and reducing fuel tank size.
3. Begin an outpost on the moon. Robots, to habitats, to humans expanding said habitats.
4. Commercial space expansion, so that it becomes truly viable, rather than potentially so.
5. Begin drawing up plans for a serious colony on Mars or its moons.

Medium term (25-75 years):
1. An EXPLOSION of commercial space presence, running the full spectrum of LEO services for customers, both individuals and entities.
2. Serious improvement and development of spacecraft propulsion.
3. ORBITAL SHIPYARD. See above, and add to the fact that you can create ships that don't need to leave a gravity well, and can use said new propulsion techniques. Also, a shipyard on the moon, if viable. This one's a little tricky, because without a lot of infrastructure, I don't see it really being viable to produce complex pieces in orbit. So I guess part of this one is also infrastructure for space manufactuing.
4. Capitalization of resources on NEOs and trojan asteroids at Sun-Mars L4 & L5. Pipe dreams? Maybe. Robotic colonies, though, could send resources constantly if automation and self-sufficiency was up to snuff, and if we can dock spaceships with no human intervention now, I imagine it's within our reach to have constant supply lines to these resources in this time period.
5. General labor allowed to go into space, subsidized by the organization sending them there. A large part of this depends on dropping the marginal costs of spaceflight by leaps and bounds, which I hope SSTO vehicles could do.
6. MARS COLONY GO.

Long term (75+ years):
1. New ways of leaving a planet. The less fuel used, the better. If we can make it so that the engines on spaceships are only used outside of a gravity well, awesome.
2. I want our colonies our moon and Mars to become self-sufficient. It is entirely possible that a colony on the moon will never become truly self-sufficient for manufacturing, but if it can refine raw materials into complex systems, then that works for me. Mars, however, has no excuse. It's got all kinds of resources laying about that we haven't exploited.
3. Plans for manned exploration of Jovian moons. Because that would be sweet.
4. Interstellar probes. Voyager doesn't count. I want us to achieve at least 1/3 lightspeed on a probe, because at the rate Voyager's moving, it will (almost literally) never reach our closest neighbor. Also, I'm interested in the Oort Cloud.
5. A dramatic expansion of knowledge about our solar system, because it's like we're working on a bazillion-piece jigsaw puzzle, and we've found three of the four corner pieces so far. And that's just assuming the puzzle only has four corners. It probably has eight, or twelve, or something crazy like that. Anyway, that analogy is dead. Point is, there's a gigantic riddle that we're not in on, and my curiousity is burning on behalf of my descendants (no, it's not a medical condition).

So I think that was sufficiently wordy, and fairly reasonable given timetables and lots of money.

 

[neutrino78x]

I definitely agree that the space treaty needs to be changed so that land on Mars can be claimed for nations (not companies) like in the age of European Exploration. Note that private companies never claimed land for themselves, they claimed it for the nation who authorized them.

Also, it would not be NASA or any other government entity that does the mining of asteroids. That is for private companies to do.

I keep going back to the analogy of the sea. The Navy -- the role of which, in space, is currently being filled by NASA -- does not do the extraction of minerals, and they do not build or operate the merchant ships that transport material. Anadarko (for example) builds the extraction platforms, and Chevron operates the ships that bring the material to where it will be used. The Navy's role is for protection.

The most the Navy/NASA would do is a Louis and Clark type role of identifying what resources are there. Private companies and private settlers would make the colonies and extract things.

Think of the Old West. People came to California to make a new life, or to get rich from gold. They didn't come as employees of the federal government. The federal government was there, to provide law and order, but it didn't settle colonies.

--Brian