National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: RESEARCH FOR MISSION OPTIMIZATION
Suggested Citation:"CONCLUSIONS." National Research Council. 1993. Scientific Prerequisites for the Human Exploration of Space. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12300.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"CONCLUSIONS." National Research Council. 1993. Scientific Prerequisites for the Human Exploration of Space. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12300.
×
Page 47

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

The Human Exploration of Space http://www.nap.edu/catalog/6058.html CONCLUSIONS 60 original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. 4 Conclusions The Committee on Human Exploration finds that a program for the exploration of the Moon and Mars by humans offers both challenges and opportunities for the participation of the scientific community. Foremost is the fact that particular, enabling scientific information is required if a Moon/Mars program is ever to succeed in one of its prime goals, the expansion of human presence and human activity beyond Earth orbit into the solar system. This will remain the case even if a major Moon/Mars program is not initiated for 5 years or 25 years. The information that the committee deems critical is concerned largely with aspects of space biology and medicine and associated characteristics of the radiation environment. This in itself is not a new finding; recognition of the need for such information has been building over the past 30 years with little progress on solutions. What is required is that NASA (and other agencies involved in implementing a human exploration project) make a long- term commitment to sponsoring a rigorous, efficient, high-quality research program on the ground and in space. The resources required will be significant and challenge NASA to structure, market, implement, and ultimately manage an adequate plan. To enable long-duration human flight to, and operations on, the Moon and Mars, we must obtain critical relevant data. However, we must also consider ab initio that the enabling research has a purpose above and beyond the simplistic, but prime, goal of achieving human presence and implied elementary survival. If a Moon/Mars program is to accomplish more than merely establishing a human presence in space, then achieving the Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

The Human Exploration of Space http://www.nap.edu/catalog/6058.html CONCLUSIONS 61 original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. program's yet-to-be-established specific goals and objectives demands that human performance and ''pre-presence'' preparation be optimized. This imperative places additional weight on the acquisition of scientific data on, for example, the distribution of potential lunar resources, details of the atmosphere of Mars, and information on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the martian surface. Science permeates all aspects of human exploration, no matter which architecture is finally selected and regardless of which set of candidate goals and objectives evolves. The involvement of the scientific community is needed to help set the goals for purely robotic missions, to analyze both scientific and engineering data, to structure appropriate tasks for humans, and to assist in the optimal integration of human and robotic activities. This pervasive requirement for scientific input mandates that the piloted spaceflight community develop a new understanding of and attention to the conduct of space science. It simultaneously requires that the scientific community interact constructively with those charged with implementation of a Moon/Mars program. In fact, success will require a technical and programmatic approach that eliminates the historical dichotomy between the "manned" and "unmanned" spaceflight programs. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Next: BIBLIOGRAPHY »
Scientific Prerequisites for the Human Exploration of Space Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!