This paper presents an analysis of the impact of ISRU, reusability, and automation on sustaining a human presence on Mars, requiring a transition from Earth dependence to Earth independence. The study analyzes the surface and transportation architectures and compared campaigns that revealed the importance of ISRU and reusability. A reusable Mars lander, Hercules, eliminates the need to deliver a new descent and ascent stage with each cargo and crew delivery to Mars, reducing the mass delivered from Earth. As part of an evolvable transportation architecture, this investment is key to enabling continuous human presence on Mars. The extensive use of ISRU reduces the logistics supply chain from Earth in order to support population growth at Mars. Reliable and autonomous systems, in conjunction with robotics, are required to enable ISRU architectures as systems must operate and maintain themselves while the crew is not present. A comparison of Mars campaigns is presented to show the impact of adding these investments and their ability to contribute to sustaining a human presence on Mars. In order to achieve the Earth independence that is required in pioneering, the study team adopted the motto, "Don't Manage Scarcity; Exploit Abundance." In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) involves extracting and utilizing local resources so that they do not need to be delivered from Earth. ISRU is a critical capability for Earth independence, and Mars has several resources in its atmosphere, surface, and even gravitational influence that can be exploited. The atmosphere can be used to reduce the energy of an entering vehicle. Aerocapture and aeroentry use the atmosphere to decelerate a vehicle without using propellant that would nominally be delivered from Earth, reducing the propellant requirements. Gravity assists, which can be considered gravitational ISRU, at the Moon or Mars also reduce the propellant requirements. Also, the 95 percent carbon dioxide and three percent nitrogen content of the Martian atmosphere can be acquired and utilized to produce useful materials and gases. 2 Water is in the regolith and subsurface of Mars, which permits the production of propellant (methane, hydrogen, other hydrocarbons, and oxygen) and crew consumables (water, oxygen, nitrogen, and food). When combined with
NASA is engaged in transforming human spaceflight. The Agency is shifting from an exploration-based program with human activities focused on low Earth orbit (LEO) and targeted robotic missions in deep space to a more sustainable and integrated pioneering approach. Through pioneering, NASA seeks to address national goals to develop the capacity for people to work, learn, operate, live, and thrive safely beyond the Earth for extended periods of time. However, pioneering space involves more than the daunting technical challenges of transportation, maintaining health, and enabling crew productivity for long durations in remote, hostile, and alien environments. This shift also requires a change in operating processes for NASA. The Agency can no longer afford to engineer systems for specific missions and destinations and instead must focus on common capabilities that enable a range of destinations and missions. NASA has codified a capability driven approach, which provides flexible guidance for the development and maturation of common capabilities necessary for human pioneers beyond LEO. This approach has been included in NASA policy and is captured in the Agency's strategic goals. It is currently being implemented across NASA's centers and programs. Throughout 2014, NASA engaged in an Agency-wide process to define and refine explorationrelated capabilities and associated gaps, focusing only on those that are critical for human exploration beyond LEO. NASA identified 12 common capabilities ranging from Environmental Control and Life Support Systems to Robotics, and established Agency-wide teams or working groups comprised of subject matter experts that are responsible for the maturation of these exploration capabilities. These teams, called the System Maturation Teams (SMTs) help formulate, guide and resolve performance gaps associated with the identified exploration capabilities. The SMTs are defining performance parameters and goals for each of the 12 capabilities, developing maturation plans and roadmaps for the identified performance gaps, specifying the interfaces between the various capabilities, and ensuring that the capabilities mature and integrate to enable future pioneering missions. By managing system development through the SMTs instead of traditional NASA programs and projects, the Agency is shifting from mission-driven development to a more flexible, capability-driven development.
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