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Celebration High School science teacher Dominique Shimizu has a group of budding scientists and engineers who have scores of questions about the future of space exploration. They are a bit confused about the apparent contradictions in the mainstream media, from the Presidential panel questioning the need for space exploration to talk of new rockets and “bombing the moon.” Ms. Shimizu and her students have asked the Independent, with its exclusive Osceola County onsite coverage at the Kennedy Space Center, to help sort out the current uncertainty surrounding the American space program.
Today’s story will focus on the issues raised by Celebration High School students Wendy C., Nicole H., Travis R., John R., Andrew S., Isaac T., and Alyssa V. We got answers directly from NASA mission managers and six astronauts awaiting their Shuttle Atlantis flight in November. Future stories will address questions posed by Celebration K-8 School students and those of other area schools.
The space shuttle fleet, designed in the 70s and first flown in 1981, is due to be replaced at the end of 2010 by the Constellation Program, which features leaner rockets and smaller space vehicles with much less payload capacity. The Shuttle, with its giant payload area and clamshell cargo bay doors, was required to transport the large sections necessary to construct the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is now essentially complete, with the remaining six shuttle missions slated to transport spare parts to keep the ISS operating.
Constellation’s next generation of rockets are called Ares (the Greek equivalent to the Roman god Mars). Ares I will launch astronauts in the new double-decker Orion exploration capsule; the larger Ares V is meant for heavy cargo. The first Ares mission to the ISS is slated for the 2015 timeframe.
As this issue went to press, an Ares I-X test rocket was poised on Launch Pad 39B, about a mile from Launch Pad 39A where Shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for its next flight in early November. The pencil-like Ares is about 13 stories taller than the 18-story Shuttle (with its giant orange external tank). But Ares is only 18 feet wide, compared to the shuttle at 78 feet.
The decision to construct a temporary moon site as a stepping-stone to Mars is heavily dependent on whether there is water on the moon. Water is too heavy to transport to the moon. Lots of water would be required, not only to sustain life but also to covert to oxygen. Scientists are now evaluating data from recent moon mission, the event referred to in the press as “bombing the moon.” Those findings are expected in November at the earliest.
If the go-ahead were given to inhabiting the moon, first flights would be in the 2020 timeframe, with habitation several years later.
What would colonists eat while on the moon? With enough water and sealed chambers, they might be able to grow much of their food. Contrary to common belief, though, astronauts now eat a variety of pre-cooked foods from sealed pouches. They no longer rely on 1960s era freeze-dried foods like the popular ice cream sandwiches still produced today and sold as a novelty item to would-be astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center gift shop.
Today’s Shuttle pilots are only in space 10-14 days at a time during their missions. But mission specialists, like Nicole Stott now at the space station, might stay at the ISS up to six months. In contrast, a round trip to Mars might take up to two and a half years: six months each way and a stay for as long as 18 months. But massive challenges remain to be solved first, including how to land a space craft on Mars, and how humans would withstand such a long trip into deep space.
Many scientists and engineers believe that a moon colony would not be required to enable successful travel to Mars, among them former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second of twelve men to walk on the moon. But not having the moon as a stepping-stone might increase the risk of the resultant non-stop, earth-to-Mars mission, perhaps in the early 2030s.
Finally, Travis R. asked the simple question, “Can I go?” The answer is yes! NASA encourages Travis and other students to prepare themselves to become the next generation of astronauts. But the six Atlantis astronauts warn against being talked into becoming let’s say a pilot, for example, just to gain entry to the program. Rather, their advice is, “Do what you love to do. There’s need for many disciplines in the astronaut corps.” Travis, you can easily be ready for that maiden voyage to Mars. Start preparing now!
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