Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Exploration: Moon to Mars
  FY'11: Exploration Precursor Robotic Missions

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   FY'11: Exploration Precursor Robotic Missions
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 50516
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-22-2010 12:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From NASA's FY2011 budget estimates:
Exploration Precursor Robotic Missions

NASA will begin funding at least two dedicated precursor missions in 2011. One will likely be a lunar mission to demonstrate tele-operation capability from Earth and potentially from the International Space Station, including the ability to transmit near-live video to Earth. This will also result in investigations for validating the availability of resources for extraction. NASA will provide opportunities to participate in the payloads and observation teams, and potentially portions of the spacecraft, through open competition.

NASA will also select at least one additional robotic precursor mission to initiate in 2011, and identify potential future missions to begin in 2012 and/or 2013. Potential missions may include:

  • Landing on asteroids or the moons of Mars rather than orbiting these bodies would allow us to better determine whether they pose safety hazards to astronauts or contain materials useful for future explorers. Landing can also test technologies that could help future human missions.

  • Landing a facility to test processing technologies for transforming lunar or asteroid materials for fuel could eventually allow astronauts to partially "live off the land."
These precursor exploration missions will cooperate closely with ESMD's Technology and Demonstrations Program, potentially serving as test-beds for new technologies. Additionally, the Exploration Precursor Robotic Missions will leverage its experience from the successfully co-manifested LRO and LCROSS missions to seek other co-manifesting opportunities in an effort to save launch vehicle costs and to encourage collaboration.

Program formulation will define processes and criteria for implementation. Leveraging LRO and LCROSS experience, formulation activities will define processes for destination and mission selection, methodology for risk and project management, acquisition strategies, and metrics against which program and project success will be defined. The Exploration Precursor Robotic Missions will foster open competition in procurements, accommodation for partnerships, and actively engage the public in coordination with Participatory Exploration efforts.

Additionally, a new portfolio of explorer scouts will execute small, rapid turn-around, highly competitive missions to exploration destinations. Generally budgeted at between $100M and $200M lifecycle cost, these missions will allow NASA to test new and innovative ways of doing robotic exploration of destinations of interest to future human exploration. Selected projects may provide multiple small scouting spacecraft to investigate multiple possible landing sites, or provide means of rapid-prototyping new spacecraft approaches. These missions will be fully and openly competed in a Principal Investigator mode.


Editor's note: This topic is for the discussion of the the projects outlined above. General commentary about NASA's new direction should be posted to this topic.

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2023 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement