Propulsion for Dummies

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Preparatory European Space Exploration
Programme Aurora
Dietrich Vennemann European Space Agency
NASA Workshop Session 1Washington 16-18
November 2004
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Presentation Content

• Original Aurora Objectives
• Logic of the Long Term Plan
• Required Knowledge and Capabilities
• Planning Assumptions
• Exploration Scenario
• Mission Plan
• New Context
• Modified Approach
• Answer to questions

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Introduction

• The ESA Council at Ministerial Level, held in
  Edinburgh in 2001, approved the Aurora Programme
  as a means to
• Increase knowledge,
• Foster innovation,
• Strengthen European identity,
• Inspire the young generation,
• Contribute to global societal security.

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Introduction (cont.)

• In support of the above objectives ESA was
• To formulate,
• and then implement,
• a European long-term plan
• for the robotic and human exploration of the
  Solar System bodies
• holding promise for traces of life.

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Objectives for first Human Mission

• Land a crew of humans on Mars by 2030 and return
  them safely, ensuring planetary protection for
  both, Earth and Mars,
• Demonstrate human capabilities
• needed to support human
• presence on Mars,
• Perform exploration and
• expand scientific knowledge
• taking maximum advantage of
• human presence including
• sample selection,
• Assess suitability of planet for long term
  presence

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Logic of the Long Term Plan
Created with CMap Tools
Created with CMap Tools
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Required Capabilities (1/2)

• Assembly in Orbit
• Advanced InterplanetaryPropulsion
• Light-weight Habitats
• Life Support Systems
• Aerocapture/Aerobraking
• Descent and Landing
• Space Infrastructure(Telecom, Navigation)

Not a Priority List!
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Required Capabilities (2/2)

• Surface EVA Suit
• Surface Mobility
• Nuclear Power on Mars
• In-situ Resource Utilisation
• Ascent and Docking
• Earth Re-Entry
• Ground Infrastructure(launch, ops)

Not a Priority List!
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Required Knowledge

• Existence of life forms on Mars
• Radiation Environment
• Effects of Radiation on Humans
• Medical and Physiological Aspects
• Psychological Reactions
• Martian Soil Properties
• Martian Atmosphere Properties

Not a Priority List!
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Planning Assumptions

• In order to avoid the high cost and additional
  delays introduced by a full dress rehearsal,
  system and operational validation are split into
• Human Mission to the Moon to validate the
  Transfer Habitation Module, EVA, Operations,
  Earth Re-entry and Crew Performance,
• Automatic Mars mission to validate the Mars
  Excursion Vehicle and interplanetary propulsion
  before committing humans to land on Mars.

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Exploration Scenario

• The split-up of the mission dress rehearsal leads
  to two interconnected development streams
  preparing and culminating in the first human
  mission
• - The Low Earth Orbit Infrastructure stream,
• starting from achievements such as the
• ATV, ARD and Columbus and extending
• them via the Moon to the necessities of
• the long term Mars mission
• The planetary exploration capabilities
• stream, starting from Mars Express,
• SMART-1 etc. and extending progressively
• towards human size vehicles

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Mission Roadmap
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ExoMars Mission 2011

• Technological Objectives
• Landing of large payloads on the surface of Mars
• Solar electric power application on the surface
  of Mars
• Mars surface mobility
• Rendezvous in Mars orbit
• Forward planetary protection
• Scientific Objectives
• Search for signs of past and present life
• Identification and characterisation of potential
  hazards to humans
• Enhancement of the knowledge of the Martian
  environment
• All of the above forms part of the PASTEUR
  instrument package

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Mars Sample Return 2013/2016

• Technological Objectives
• Entry, descent and landing system validation
• Mars ascent vehicle validation
• Sampling of atmosphere, top and deep soil
• Forward and backward planetary protection
• Operational aspects of a round trip to Mars
• Scientific Objectives
• Search for signs of life
• Perform geological/mineralogical analyses on
  samples of soil
• Perform analyses of samples of Martian atmosphere
• Identify and characterise potential hazards for
  humans

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Changed context

• On January 14, 2004 President George W. Bush set
  a new space exploration agenda for the U.S. and
  suggested that this should be done with
  international participation.
• Induces changes on ISS Programme
• Provides new challenges for international
  co-operation
• Robotic and human exploration was taken up in the
  green/white paper process of the EC with the
  suggestion to conduct a Europe wide consultation
  on its final objectives.

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Revised approach

• In view of the changed context the Aurora
  Programme Board in consultation with the
  appropriate Advisory Committee authorised the
  following
• Conduct wide consultation to confirm objectives
  and requirements,
• Analyse the exploration plans of other nations,
  especially the one of the U.S. find co-operation
  opportunities,
• Elaborate exploration architecture, mission
  roadmap and associated technology and research
  plans, building on the Aurora approach,
• Determine European priorities on the basis of
  agreed criteria to be integrated into the
  Programme Proposal to MC in 2005.

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Revised content

• The preparatory programme concentrates on the
  following activities
• Elaboration of exploration scenarios and related
  architectures with special emphasis on the Moon,
• Advancing expected building blocks for
  exploration
• Robotic missions
• Human spaceflight capabilities
• Exploration technology
• Education and Outreach

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Conclusions

• While preparing for the ESA Council, we are ready
  to discuss objectives, scenarios and
  architectures for Space Exploration in
  international co-operation,
• Based on these discussions we will determine our
  priorities and suggest activities accordingly to
  Ministers at the end of 2005.
• Obviously we will try to build on our
  achievements in robotic exploration, like
  MarsExpress, SMART etc., as well as on our
  contributions to the ISS, like the ATV and
  others,
• The use of the International Space Station for
  exploration purposes is technically and
  politically of greatest importance for our
  attempt to build a convincing programme,

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Questions

• What lessons can we learn from past cooperative
  programs that we can apply to future exploration
  cooperation?
• International cooperation is the subject of
  Session 5 and will be extensively discussed
  there.
• What are your agencys strategies objectives and
  plans for future human space exploration?
• ESA has always assumed that future human space
  exploration would be done in international
  cooperation. What and how much Europe will
  contribute will depend on the degree to which our
  objectives can be met and our priorities (still
  to be defined) satisfied.

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Questions

• What are the driving rationales?
• The main motivations are Increase knowledge,
  Foster innovation, Strengthen European identity,
  Inspire the young generation, Contribute to
  global societal security. Discussions with major
  stakeholders are ongoing on the relative weight
  of these and on the way, how best to proceed.
• What timetable is your agency projecting?
• In order to be able to propose activities to
  Council for the next five to ten years we built a
  long term scenario with a human mission to Mars
  in 2030/33, but our Long Term plan is a living
  document, which will be adapted.

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Questions

• What is the status of your plans?
• A preparatory programme until the end of 2006 is
  funded, while a proposal for the period 2006
  2015 is being prepared for decision by the end of
  2005.
• How do your robotic exploration plans relate?
• As outlined in the Mission Roadmap, robotic
  exploration is an integral part of the plans,
  which we are preparing.
• How do you relate the Vision for U.S. Space
  Exploration to your plans and interests?
• It may be the nucleus around which an
  international space exploration endeavour can be
  built, provided that our interests can be met.

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Questions

• What space exploration studies has your agency
  completed in the recent past and what plans exist
  for future studies?
• Several studies related to human Mars
  exploration were conducted by industry. One
  in-house study in the Concurrent Design Facility
  at ESTEC mainly aimed at creating tools to enable
  us to compare concepts and architectures. In this
  facility we are presently running a study on Moon
  exploration, which will enable us to further
  develop our tools. We expect to analyse plans of
  potential partners as they become known and
  prepare to study cooperative concepts and
  architectures.

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Questions

• What are your interests in lunar exploration?
• Our original plans contain limited activities
  towards the Moon (rehearsal), but the publication
  of the US Vision indicating plans for substantial
  exploration of the Moon leads us to investigate
  what the interest could be and how it could be
  done (see in answer to question 8).
• How do you see exploration of the Moon as a
  testbed for going to Mars?
• Sofar that is the only role we defined for the
  Moon in our plans, but as said above ..

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Questions

• What other interest do you have for the human
  presence on the Moon?
• Please refer to answer under question 9.
• What role will research, testing and
  demonstration on the ISS have in your plans for
  exploration?
• The use of the International Space Station for
  exploration purposes is technically and
  politically of greatest importance for our
  attempt to build a convincing programme. We see
  its use mainly in the areas of Life Support and
  Habitation but also for investigations on
  long-term effects of human space flight.