HUMANS ARE finally heading back to the Moon, with plans to put humans on the lunar surface by 2020. Nasa is developing a new launch rocket and crew capsule that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station, to the moon and possibly to Mars, writes DICK AHLSTROM
The Constellation programme covers all aspects of the project, meant to provide a replacement for the ageing space-shuttle fleet, which is due to go out of service by 2010. There are only seven shuttle missions left, says Ashley Edwards of Nasa’s Exploration Systems Directorate.
“It is all about exploration,” she says of the programme. “Constellation is about the development of an architecture, the launch vehicle, crew capsule, lunar lander, it is about developing the infrastructure to get back to the moon,” she explains.
And while the Ares launch rocket and Orioncrew capsule will look very similar to those used in the Apollomissions, the electronics and safety systems are very much 21st century.
Nasa acknowledges it borrowed heavily from Apolloand the shuttle, building on existing technologies and saving costs by going with what already works. Huge advances in materials science, electronics and communications have transformed what can be done, says Edwards.
The Constellation programme includes the development of the Orioncrew exploration vehicle, the Ares I and Ares V launch rockets and the Altair lunar lander.
While Orion' saccommodation is shaped like Apollo'sthree-person capsule, it offers two-and-a-half times the space and can carry six crew. It would provide accommodation for an attempt to bring humans to Mars.
Orionwill be lifted into low-Earth orbit by the Ares I launch vehicle. It will provide a direct replacement for the shuttle, delivering crew to and from the space station and ferrying up supplies.
It has a solid-fuel first-stage technology borrowed from the shuttle, and a liquid-fuel second stage, which uses a version of a rocket motor developed for the Saturn V used in the Apollomissions. Ares I can lift up to 22,680kg, but the much more powerful Ares V will provide the heavy-lift needed for missions to the moon and Mars. It can put 186,882kg into low-Earth orbit, significantly more than the Saturn V's 118,000kg.
It has also blended shuttle and Saturn V era technology to provide a launch vehicle that uses twin solid rocket boosters and a liquid-fuel first stage, then a liquid-fuel second stage.
The Ares I and V will be used in tandem to put humans back on the moon, Nasa says. Ares I will put the Orioncrew vehicle into orbit, and then the Ares V would carry up the Altair lunar lander.
Orionand Altairwould couple together while in orbit before leaving Earth using Orion'sown liquid-fuel rocket motor to carry four crew to land on the moon.
The Constellation programme assumes that the overall goal is to build a base on the moon, says Edwards. “What we are looking at is a sustained human presence, to do real science up there. It is really a stepping stone,” she adds, with the moon potentially serving as a staging post for a manned attempt on Mars.
She believes the drive to explore and travel to new places is an evolved behaviour. “Human exploration conveys an evolutionary advantage. It gives you better odds for survival,” she says. These are the exciting plans to put humans back on the moon but will they come off? Will the new administration make the money available to pursue Constellation objectives while a recession limits tax revenues?
“We have a panel studying everything to do with human space flight.” As part of its remit, this panel will examine the objective of reaching the moon.