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OCR for page 46
The Human Exploration of Space
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/6058.html
CONCLUSIONS 60
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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.
OCR for page 47
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.
