Session
Session II: Where We're Going Section 1
Abstract
In 2004, President George W. Bush gave the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a new focusthe Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). The VSE, which includes a human presence on both the Moon and Mars, requires a space infrastructure which will more closely resemble a polar expedition (with its system of base camps, supply depots, etc.) than previous space programs. In this effort, the roles of scouts, communication nodes, and rescue parties may well be played by a network of microspacecraft spanning the vastness of the Earth-Moon-Mars system. The need to put unprecedented capabilities in space at manageable cost makes it important to examine the smallest, lightest, and most affordable machines which may be suited for each required task. Microspacecraft technology, much of it already demonstrated (e.g., NASA’s AERcam Sprint and the Air Force’s XSS-10) or in flight testing (e.g., NASA’s SPHERES and Space Technology 5 (ST5) missions), can help reduce costs and maximize crew safety. Possible roles for microspacecraft include inspecting larger vehicles for damage, assisting astronauts on extra-vehicular activity (EVA), in-flight servicing, scouting out conditions on other celestial bodies, and providing communications services, sensing, and navigation from lunar and Martian orbit. The overall concept arising from our preliminary study of these roles is a network of small spacecraft providing a variety of support to the large robotic and human-carrying craft required by the VSE. In a practical VSE architecture, microspacecraft are likely to play a much larger role than their size – or current thinking – would suggest.
Presentation Slides
Microspacecraft and the Vision For Space Exploration
In 2004, President George W. Bush gave the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a new focusthe Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). The VSE, which includes a human presence on both the Moon and Mars, requires a space infrastructure which will more closely resemble a polar expedition (with its system of base camps, supply depots, etc.) than previous space programs. In this effort, the roles of scouts, communication nodes, and rescue parties may well be played by a network of microspacecraft spanning the vastness of the Earth-Moon-Mars system. The need to put unprecedented capabilities in space at manageable cost makes it important to examine the smallest, lightest, and most affordable machines which may be suited for each required task. Microspacecraft technology, much of it already demonstrated (e.g., NASA’s AERcam Sprint and the Air Force’s XSS-10) or in flight testing (e.g., NASA’s SPHERES and Space Technology 5 (ST5) missions), can help reduce costs and maximize crew safety. Possible roles for microspacecraft include inspecting larger vehicles for damage, assisting astronauts on extra-vehicular activity (EVA), in-flight servicing, scouting out conditions on other celestial bodies, and providing communications services, sensing, and navigation from lunar and Martian orbit. The overall concept arising from our preliminary study of these roles is a network of small spacecraft providing a variety of support to the large robotic and human-carrying craft required by the VSE. In a practical VSE architecture, microspacecraft are likely to play a much larger role than their size – or current thinking – would suggest.
