Vision for Space Exploration
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The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by the then U.S. President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration.
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[edit] Outline
The Vision calls for the space program to:[1]
- Complete the International Space Station by 2010
- Retire the Space Shuttle by 2010
- Develop the Orion spacecraft (formerly known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle) by 2008, and conduct its first human spaceflight mission by 2014
- Develop Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicles
- Explore the Moon with robotic spacecraft missions by 2008 and crewed missions by 2020
- Explore Mars and other destinations with robotic and crewed missions
Outlining some of the advantages, U.S. President George W. Bush addressed the following:[1]
| “ | Establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly reduce the costs of further space exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions. Lifting heavy spacecraft and fuel out of the Earth's gravity is expensive. Spacecraft assembled and provisioned on the moon could escape its far lower gravity using far less energy, and thus, far less cost. Also, the moon is home to abundant resources. Its soil contains raw materials that might be harvested and processed into rocket fuel or breathable air. We can use our time on the moon to develop and test new approaches and technologies and systems that will allow us to function in other, more challenging environments. | ” |
One of the stated goals for the vision is to gain significant experience in operating away from Earth's environment,[2] as the White House contended, to embody a "sustainable course of long-term exploration."[3] The Ares boosters are a cost-effective approach[4] — entailing the Ares V's enormous, unprecedented cargo-carrying capacity[5] — transporting future space exploration resources to the Moon's[4] weaker gravity field.[6] While simultaneously serving as a proving ground for a wide range of space operations and processes, the Moon may serve as a cost-effective construction, launching and fueling site for future space exploration missions.[7] Unique products may be producible in the nearly limitless extreme vacuum of the lunar surface, and the Moon's remoteness is the ultimate isolation for biologically hazardous experiments. The Moon would become a proving ground also toward the development of In-Situ Resource Utilization, or "living off the land" (i.e., self-sufficiency) for permanent human outposts.
NASA has also outlined plans for manned missions to the far side of the Moon.[8] All of the Apollo missions have landed on the near side.
In a position paper issued by the National Space Society (NSS), a return to the Moon should be considered a high space program priority, to begin development of the knowledge and identification of the industries unique to the Moon. The NSS believes that the Moon may be a repository of the history and possible future of our planet, and that the six Apollo landings only scratched the surface of that 'treasure'. According to NSS, the Moon's far side, permanently shielded from the noisy Earth, is an ideal site for future radio astronomy (for example, signals in the 1-10 MHz range cannot be detected on Earth because of ionosphere interference.[9])
When the Vision was announced in January 2004, the U.S. Congress and the scientific community gave it a mix of positive and negative reviews. For example, Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) said, "I think this is the best thing that has happened to the space program in decades." While physicist and outspoken manned spaceflight opponent Robert L. Park said that robotic spacecraft "are doing so well it's going to be hard to justify sending a human,"[3] the vision announced by the President stated that "robotic missions will serve as trailblazers -- the advanced guard to the unknown."[1]
Others, such as the Mars Society, have argued that it makes more sense to avoid going back to the Moon and instead focus on going to Mars first.[10]
Initial return missions as proposed by President Bush and NASA, can be done through space operations using the existing launch infrastructure and assets developed by the shuttle and International Space Station programs, plus existing expendable launch vehicles, with a minimum of new research and development programs.[citation needed] The lessons learned from international cooperation during ISS construction and operations, can be improved upon and extended to human missions to the Moon, Mars and elsewhere.
Initial missions could place scientific equipment on the Moon and return samples from areas never explored, such as the polar regions. Extent of water and other volatiles important to lunar industrialization could be determined. As future reusable launch systems begin operations, reducing cost and enabling higher flight rates, Earth-Moon traffic can become routine.[citation needed]
Throughout much of 2004, it was unclear whether the U.S. Congress would be willing to approve and fund the Vision for Space Exploration. However, in November 2004, Congress passed a spending bill which gave NASA the $16.2 billion that President Bush had sought to kick-start the Vision. According to then-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe, that spending bill “was as strong an endorsement of the space exploration vision, as any of us could have imagined.”[11] In 2005, Congress passed S.1281, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, which explicitly endorses the Vision.[12]
Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is a big supporter of the Vision, but modified it somewhat, saying that he wants to reduce the four year gap between the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the first manned mission of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.[13]
[edit] Criticism
In February 2009, Buzz Aldrin and the Aerospace Technology Working Group released an in-depth report asserting that the Vision had several fundamental problems with regard to politics, financing, and general space policy issues and that the initiative should be rectified or replaced.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program". NASA. 14 January 2004. http://history.nasa.gov/Bush%20SEP.htm. Retrieved on 17 June 2009.
- ^ Please refer to Constellation program.
- ^ a b "FAQ: Bush's New Space Vision". space.com. http://www.space.com/news/bush_plan_faq_040115.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ a b "NASA - Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle". NASA. 29 April 2009. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/aresl/index.html. Retrieved on 13 May 2009.
- ^ Please refer to Ares V.
- ^ Please refer to Moon.
- ^ Please refer to Colonization of the Moon#Advantages.
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article742757.ece
- ^ Please refer to Lunar Infrastructure For Exploration.
- ^ "The Mars Society Frequently Asked Questions". marssociety.org. http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/faq#moon_first. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ "Congress Grants $16.2 Billion Budget for NASA". space.com. http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive04/congressarch_120604.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ "NASA Authorization Act". gpo.gov. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ155.109.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ "A Message From Administrator Michael Griffin". nasa.gov. http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/mg_admin_corner_041405.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=30702
[edit] External links
- NASA: The Vision for Space Exploration
- Official Constellation NASA Web Site
- Official Orion NASA Web Site
- Official Ares Web Site
- President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy
- NASA: Exploration Systems
- National Space Society
- NASA Authorization Act of 2005
