Mission to Mars (13 page)

Human cognition and dexterity can be extended to lunar territory at the speed of light via telerobotics. Safely tucked inside a high-tech habitat at an Earth-moon Lagrangian point, space expeditionary crews can teleoperate systems that are deployed on the moon.

By demonstrating telerobotic skills at the Hawaii-situated base, processes would be validated in preparation for renewed human activity on the moon. This matchless center will motivate and train the much needed next generation of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs primed to take on the challenges ahead in developing the space frontier. I know firsthand, challenging times often precede the most rewarding moments.

First as a terrestrial prototype, a multinational lunar base will help condition us to what’s needed on Mars to support future human missions and settlements there.

When Neil and I stepped upon the surface of the moon at Tranquillity Base, we fulfilled a dream held by humankind for centuries. As inscribed on the plaque affixed to the ladder of our lander: “We Came in Peace for All Mankind.” It was, truly, one small step. But more steps are needed. There is no compelling reason to forgo our longer-term goal of permanent human presence on Mars. Consequently, great care must be taken that
precious dollar resources needed for the great leap to Mars are not sidetracked to the moon.

The United States has more experience at the moon than any other nation. The country made a huge expenditure in the 1960s and 1970s to gain that leadership. So to just toss that investment away is ridiculous. However, what we now need to do is foster a presence at the Earth-moon L1 and L2 points, libration gateports that permit the United States to robotically assemble, piece by piece, hardware and habitation on the moon. America’s space program should help other nations achieve what we have already done.

In
chapter 3
I mentioned Lagrangian points—locations in space where gravitational forces and the orbital motion of a body balance each other. French mathematician Louis Lagrange identified these areas in 1772. His gravitational studies of the “Three body problem,” suggested that a third, small body would orbit around two orbiting large ones. There are five Lagrangian points in the Earth-moon system, as well as in the sun-Earth system. Because of the combined gravitational force of the two bodies, they can be used by spacecraft as a place to linger, although a spacecraft at the Earth-moon Lagrangian points must use light rocket firings to remain in the same place or control its path around their halo orbits.

The Earth-moon Lagrangian points, E-M 1 and E-M 2, are viable L points: locations where the combined gravity of Earth and the moon permits a spacecraft to be synchronized with the moon in its orbit around Earth. In other words, the spacecraft appears to hover over the far side of the moon. Crew members at this location have continuous line-of-sight visibility to the entire far side of both the moon and Earth.

Gateports between planets will orbit at libration or Lagrangian points
.

Balanced forces make L1 a key rendezvous point
.

The physics of Lagrangian points

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Illustration Credit 4.7
)

From the Earth-moon L2 point, one scientific setup on the moon is emplacing a far side lunar telescope, equipment that will tune in to an era of the young universe during the first 100 million years of its existence. With no atmospheric distortion, shielded from the buzz and static broadcast from Earth, the extremely “radio quiet” far side of the moon presents a superlative environment for sensitive telescopic observations.

Matching Earth-moon Lagrangian points with astronauts operating telerobotic hardware allows the assembly of infrastructure on the moon, carrying out surface science, scouting out and unearthing important lunar resources. This capability is an innovative advance, redefining the word “exploration”—and it is also a powerful stepping-stone to similar operations at Mars and its moons.

As an initial step, I propose the United States put in place nonsurface lunar infrastructure, including a lunar orbiting global positioning system and libration point relay satellites, as well as space-based fuel depots. These infrastructure projects will enable more efficient and detailed exploration of the moon. For example, a lunar communications system can tackle the challenge of contact with the lunar far side, which is blocked from direct line of sight with Earth. A pair of communication satellites in the halo orbits around the Earth-moon Lagrangian points L1 and L2 would provide radio blackoutfree coverage of spacecraft in lunar orbit and for most of the lunar surface.

Available to all countries, the “buy by the byte” lunar communications system would be built to handle an outflow of science data to be returned to Earth, from on-the-prowl teleoperated
rovers to robotic sample-return missions that investigate the far side of the moon. First, a lunar communication network will be developed using a frequency common to all users, to be followed by a lunar navigation system.

I’ve been there. Working on the moon is not easy. You’re faced with a lack of reference points and landmarks. The moon is such a small body, the nearness of the lunar horizon makes navigation on the lunar surface tricky. It’s very easy to get lost on the surface of the moon, particularly if you are in rough terrain—the very type of landscape that is likely to be most attractive for study.

A lunar navigation system would constitute a constellation of perhaps four or five satellites. They can provide the precise navigation needed to make lunar research much more effective and less risky, both for teleoperated rovers and for human explorers.

This infrastructure is linked to the establishment of a new organization dedicated to cultivating a unified international effort to further examine and develop the moon.

Spurred in part by the discovery of lunar water, there has been a major resurgence in moon exploration, carried out not only by the United States. Several nations have their eyes on the moon too, among them China, India, Japan, Russia, and the consortium of countries that form the European Space Agency. Go-it-alone initiatives, though, create the prospect of duplication of effort—and the wasteful use of resources. For spacefaring
nations in these turbulent economic times, everyone is dealing with cash-strapped budgets. It is time to build on each other’s talents and reduce mission risk by sharing information and capabilities.

How to avoid duplication and make lunar exploration more efficient and more effective?

An International Lunar Development Corporation (ILDC) could be customized to draw upon the legacy and lessons learned from previous efforts, such as the International Geophysical Year, piecing together the International Space Station as well as model organizations like Intelsat and the European Space Agency.

Space collaboration should be the new norm. Despite the Cold War tensions between the United States and the former Soviet Union that characterized the space race of the 1960s, the Russians have become critical partners in the International Space Station—a collective effort of 16 nations. It is time to inspire the international community to jointly explore and develop the moon as a partnership. Forget the space race. That is now a mode that’s outmoded.

The ILDC moves beyond dependence on the financial and technical wherewithal of a single nation. What’s more, its organizational structure would allow it to easily work with private firms and to make use of private funding. The ILDC should have the flexibility not only to contract with private firms for services and goods, but even to enter into alliances and partnerships with the private sector. Indeed, I visualize the ILDC as an anchor customer for lunar navigation and communications services.

The hallmark of the ILDC will be to encourage cooperation and reduce duplication of effort. Membership will be open to any nation, thus fulfilling the promise of Apollo by allowing all nations a way to take part in the exploration of the moon. For the effective utilization of the moon, goods and services can be bartered, enabling China, India, Japan, and others to land their robotic and human-carrying vehicles. For them, it is about establishing prestige. Space has always been an arena of bartering, and it is a “currency of choice” that has been used in setting up and operating the International Space Station.

So what does the United States barter for? For seats on landers of other nations, U.S. contributions of infrastructure can be offered in exchange for human passenger delivery to the surface of the moon and back. The point here is to avoid investing American taxpayer dollars in transporting U.S. personnel to the moon. We just barter for things and get clever about our ability to negotiate.

America should chart a course of being the national leader of this international activity to develop the moon, but
not
by spending money placing U.S. government people on its surface. There’s no need to spend our money on landers and other things that we’ve done before. Our focus should be limited to robots on the lunar surface that are dutifully employed to do scientific, commercial, and other private-sector work. We need to provide the nonsurface lunar infrastructure and make that available to other governments—China, India, and others—in exchange for an occasional seat on their landers. In short, don’t put any more NASA astronauts on the moon!

Our resources must be saved and spent on moving toward establishing human permanence on Mars.

In many ways, I anticipate an outpost on the moon that could mirror what has already taken place here on Earth, in Antarctica.

Americans have been studying Antarctica and its interactions with the rest of our globe since 1956. Visiting researchers delve into glaciology, biology and medicine, geology and geophysics, oceanography, climate studies, astronomy, and astrophysics. Contractors and units of the military provide operational support at year-round stations: Palmer Station, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and McMurdo Station (the main U.S. station
in Antarctica). Today, the U.S. Antarctic Program supports a peak population of about 1,600 men and women.