User:Annashott/Future of space exploration

Benefits of Space Exploration
Main Article: Benefits of space exploration

The reason for human and individual nations’ investment in space exploration has dramatically shifted since the 20th century Space race. Space exploration of the late 1900s was driven by the Soviet Union and the United states competition to achieve the first spaceflight. Now, the private sector and national governments are again investing in space exploration. However, this time they are motivated by protecting human life from catastrophic events and leveraging the resources of space.

Colonize outer space:
Main Article: Space colonization

Space colonization is a key benefit to finding efficient methods of space travel. Those in favor of space colonization argue space colonization is a means of ensuring the survival of human civilization given a planetary disaster. Colonizing other planets allows for the dispersal of humans and thus increases the likelihood of survival given a planetary disaster. Based on research performed on the surface of the mood, researchers predict that this type of catastrophic event occurs every half a million years. Furthermore, the availability of additional resources that can be mined from space could potentially expand the capabilities of humans and largely benefit society. Leveraging these resources and moving high polluting industries to space could reduce the emissions on earth and ultimately lead to fining cleaner energy sources. However, many object to space colonization, expressing concerns for the commodification of space and a potential to perpetuate pre-existing problems, such as war and economic inequality. Currently there are no space colonies. The primary blockers to colonizing space include technological and economic challenges.

Many private companies are working to make space travel more efficient in hopes to reduce the overall cost of space travel, and thus space colonization. SpaceX has been a dominant leader in this push for efficient exploration with the release of the Falcon 9, a reusable rocket. NASA’s Artimus program aims to land another man and the first women on the moon by 2024 and eventually establish sustainable space travel by 2028. The Artimus program is NASA’s stepping stone to their ultimate goal of landing on Mars. NASA reports advances in efficient space technology that would enable both goals to be met, and ultimately allow for humans to establish a long-term presence on another planet. In order to colonize space, humans must have access to sustainable sources of energy. NASA is currently testing the capabilities of Perovskite solar cells to provide energy in space. Compared to the current alternative, silicon solar cells, Perovskite solar cells produce extremely large amounts of energy from a relatively small number of cells. Furthermore, the Perovskite solar cells can be transported as liquid, making it safe to ship from earth to space. However, these cells are fragile and will require further research before they can be established as the primary energy source for space.

Space Research
Main Article: Space Research

The unique attributes of space enable astronauts to conduct research that could not otherwise be executed on earth. Furthermore, the unrepeated perspective from space looking at earth enables scientists to gain more insight on the earth’s natural environment. Research conducted at the International Space Station aims to benefit human civilizations on earth and extend human knowledge around space and space exploration. Currently, NASA’s research at the ISS includes biomedical research, material science, technology advancement, and methods to enable further space exploration.

Anti and microgravity enable astronauts to execute medical research that is impossible to perform on earth. For example, NASA’s research on new treatment options for complex diseases, such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, require the use of a microgravity environment to allow the microparticles in the treatment solution to stay robust. NASA has also reported research investment in microbial vaccine development and microencapsulation of drugs for targeted and more efficient treatment delivery. Private companies have also begun to leverage the International Space Station for research purposes. Techshot and nScrypt launched a 3D BioFabrication Facility to the International Space Station in 2019. This device leverages microgravity to 3D print organs which can then be shipped back to earth for use. Ultimately, organs can not be printed on earth because the fragile tissue collapses under its own weight. Therefore, leveraging the elements of space Techshot and nScrypt aim to reduce the global organ shortage by printing organs and human tissue in space.

The Private Sector and Space Commercialization
NASA continues to focus on solving more difficult problems involving space exploration such as deep space capabilities and improving human life support systems. With that said, NASA has placed the challenge of commercializing space to the private space industry with the hopes of developing innovations which help improve human living conditions in space. Commercialization of space in the private sector will lead to reducing flight costs, developing new methods of sustaining human life in space, and will provide the opportunity for tourists to experience Low Earth orbit travel in the future.

Limitations to Space Commercialization
Experiencing Low Earth Orbit as a tourist requires accommodations to allow for humans to fly or spend time in space. These accommodations will need to solve the following problems:

1.  Physiological effects of living in microgravity will affect your body's chemistry and invoke symptoms such as motion sickness from disorientation. Long term gradual effects from time in space include Bone atrophy from a gravity scarce environment that limits the flow of minerals throughout the body.

2. Upcoming habitats are designed for effective transport on rocket systems which means these habitats are small and confined leading to confinement problems and physiological changes in behavior like claustrophobia.

3. Residing in earth's orbit removes the protections of the Ozone layer which absorbs harmful radiation emitted from the sun. Living in orbit around earth exposes humans to ten times more radiation than humans living on earth. These radiative effects can invoke symptoms such as skin cancer.

Company Advancements in Commercialization

SpaceX
Main Article: SpaceX

In 2017 Elon Musk announced the development of rocket travel to transport humans from one city to another in under an hour. Elon has challenged SpaceX to improve travel across the world through his reusable rocket propulsion to send up passengers soaring into space then landing at their destination.

Virgin Galactic
Main Article: Virgin Galactic

The company Virgin Galactic with CEO Sir Richard Branson is developing another method to reach planes through Aircraft propulsion. Named SpaceshipTwo which is a biplane that carries a spacecraft as its payload known as WhiteKnightTwo and carries it to cruising altitude where the rocket separates and begins to climb out of earth’s atmosphere. The goal is to use this method of travel for Private Spaceflight into space to experience microgravity and observe earth for some time then return home. There have been a few setbacks on the actual commercial launch however the first crewed launch took place in February 2019.

Blue Origin
Main Article: Blue Origin

New Shepard
The Blue Origin website highlights a small launch vehicle sending payloads into orbit. The goal is to reduce the cost of sending smaller payloads into orbit with future intentions to send humans into space. The first stage is reusable while the second stage is expendable. Maximum payload dimensions are expected to be around 530 cubic feet to be carried past the Karman line.

New Glenn
The larger variant of the New Shepard, Blue Origin seeks to increase their payload capabilities by developing a 95-meter-tall rocket capable of reusable flight to space. Its payload is expected to be satellites or to provide humans with the opportunity to view space without astronaut training. Blue origin intends the rocket's reusability to last 25 flights into space alleviating costs increasing the possibility of commercialized travel.

Blue Moon
Blue origin lunar lander is a designed flexible lander with capabilities to send both cargo and crew to the lunar surface. This habitat will provide a sustained human presence by providing necessities such as life support systems and lunar rovers to excavate and scout the surrounding lunar surface. Further developments on this project include a Human Landing system which are detachable living quarters intended to attach and depart from the Blue Moon Lunar Lander.

Bigelow Aerospace Expandable Activity Module
Main Article: Bigelow Aerospace

The Bigelow Aerospace Corporation founded by Robert Bigelow is headquartered in Las Vegas. A research and development company with emphasis on constructing space architecture capable of housing humans and creating living conditions suitable for living in space. The company has sent two subscale spacecraft known as Genesis I and II into Low Earth Orbit along with sending a module known as Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) which is inflated and attached to the International Space Station. The BEAM Module is measured to be 14 feet in length and can be inflated or deflated for ease of transportation. Bigelow Aerospace is working toward developing their own Modules independent of the International Space Station to send Tourists and visitors.

Aurora Space Station
Main Article: Aurora Space Station

The Aurora Space Station is being developed by Orion Span founded by Frank Bunger in 2017 working toward commercializing space through a new capsule known as Aurora. The one time launch destination will maintain a Low Earth Orbit and set to hold crew members and tourists. The station is expected to launch around the year 2022.

Commercial Crew Capsule Development
Main Article: Commercial Crew Development

The Commercial Crew Program is a human spaceflight program designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX and Boeing have been selected by NASA as the major frontrunners to develop and test designs to complete the NASA missions and will go on to fulfill the needs of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation of the crew in the future. The Artemis Missions designed by NASA to bring the first man and woman to Mars will feature a Lockheed Martin crew capsule as part of the Orion Spacecraft.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule
Main Article: SpaceX Dragon 2

On August 2nd, 2020, the Dragon Crew Capsule was launched with NASA astronauts onboard to complete the first commercial crew flight to the International Space Station using a private industry's design. While this mission was to perform scientific experiments on board the space station and serve as a final test to the transportation vehicles, the mission success expands opportunity for future missions for a variety of purposes and crew teams.

Boeing Starliner Capsule
Main Article: Boeing Starliner

A slightly smaller design than Lockheed Martin’s Orion Spacecraft with a launch mass of 13000kg, the Boeing Starliner is another variation of a spacecraft created to transport crew to and from the International Space Station, this time for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The capsule features a higher crew capacity of up to 7 but much shorter design life of only 60 hours undocked flight time. The design varied as it was a reusable spacecraft that featured a ground landing rather than a splashdown recovery which can be reused 10 times. The design proposal was selected by NASA in 2014 along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to serve as the crew capsule for the Artemis Missions. Since the final design review, Boeing faced issues with docking with the International Space Station but was able to prove a successful land-based touchdown. One more hardware test flight is currently planned for the vehicle in July 2021.

Lockheed Martin Orion
Main Article: Lockheed Martin Orion Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin developed a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to transport crew to and from the International Space Station using the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket. The design was fairly large at a total mass of 33,446kg but was designed with a flight life of 21.1 days. The design proposal created as part of NASA’s Constellation Program was developed alongside the European Service Module to form the Orion Spacecraft. Since the selection of the design by NASA in 2006 beating out Northrop Grumman, three flight-ready Orion spacecraft are under construction and one successful launch was performed in 2014. The longest flight performed using the spacecraft to date has been under 5 minutes long, however the planned Artemis 3 mission seeks to test the vehicle’s life span design to 30 days. The first production of the Orion spacecraft design, Artemis III, will carry the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024.

SpaceX Crew 1
Main Article: SpaceX Crew 1

The 180-day long mission was originally planned for a lunch date in 2012. It was postponed pending the success of the hardware demonstration and operational flight missions. Currently expected to launch on 15 November 2020, the SpaceX Crew 1 Mission will be the second crewed orbital flight of the Crew Dragon following the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission and the certification of the vehicle by NASA. The launch will serve as the first fully crewed flight designed for operational testing to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew on board will be three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut launching atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket.

SpaceX Crew 2
Main Article: SpaceX Crew 2

The crewed operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule will serve as the third overall crewed orbital flight. The mission, currently proposed for launch on 30 March 2021, details a 210 day mission with two NASA astronauts, one Japanese Astronaut, and a European Space Agency Astronaut following the completion of the SpaceX Crew 1 mission and refurbishment of the Crew Dragon Endeavor capsule after the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission.

Boeing Crew Flight Test
Main Article: Boeing Crewed Flight Test

The Boeing Crew Flight Test will serve as the first crewed mission to test the Boeing Starliner crew capsule and the first crewed spacecraft launching atop the Atlas V Rocket. The current launch date is set for June 2021 and will last anywhere from two weeks to six months. The crew comprises three NASA astronauts, one of which being the first woman to serve as a crew of an American spacecraft.

Boeing Starliner 1
Main Article: Boeing Starliner 1

The Boeing Starliner 1 mission will be the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner and the first mission to reuse the Starliner Spacecraft. The mission is expected to launch no earlier than December 2021 using the Atlas V rocket with a crew of four astronauts, three NASA astronauts and likely one international partner astronaut from either Japan, Canada, or the European Space Agency. This mission will be the fourth US spaceflight with a female commander.