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
As part of an overall focus on space exploration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continues to evaluate potential approaches for sending humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). In addition, various external organizations are studying options for beyond LEO exploration. Recent studies include NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign and Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0, JPL's Minimal Mars Architecture; the Inspiration Mars mission; the Mars One campaign; and the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER).Each of these potential exploration constructs applies unique methods, architectures, and philosophies for human exploration. It is beneficial to compare potential approaches in order to better understand the range of options available for exploration. Since most of these studies were conducted independently, the approaches, ground rules, and assumptions used to conduct the analysis differ. In addition, the outputs and metrics presented for each construct differ substantially. This paper will describe the results of an effort to compare and contrast the results of these different studies under a common set of metrics. The paper will first present a summary of each of the proposed constructs, including a description of the overall approach and philosophy for exploration. Utilizing a common set of metrics for comparison, the paper will present the results of an evaluation of the potential benefits, critical challenges, and uncertainties associated with each construct. The analysis framework will include a detailed evaluation of key characteristics of each construct. These will include but are not limited to: a description of the technology and capability developments required to enable the construct and the uncertainties associated with these developments; an analysis of significant operational and programmatic risks associated with that construct; and an evaluation of the extent to which exploration is enabled by the construct, including the destinations visited and the exploration capabilities provided at those destinations. Based upon the comparison of constructs, the paper will identify trends and lessons learned across all of the candidate studies.
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