Fast Transit: Mars & Beyond
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Fast Transit: mars & beyond final Report Space Studies Program 2019 Team Project Final Report Fast Transit: mars & beyond final Report Internationali l Space Universityi i Space Studies Program 2019 © International Space University. All Rights Reserved. i International Space University Fast Transit: Mars & Beyond Cover images of Mars, Earth, and Moon courtesy of NASA. Spacecraft render designed and produced using CAD. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this report, ISU does not take any responsibility for the accuracy of its content. The 2019 Space Studies Program of the International Space University was hosted by the International Space University, Strasbourg, France. Electronic copies of the Final Report and the Executive Summary can be downloaded from the ISU Library website at http://isulibrary.isunet.edu/ International Space University Strasbourg Central Campus Parc d’Innovation 1 rue Jean-Dominique Cassini 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden France Tel +33 (0)3 88 65 54 30 Fax +33 (0)3 88 65 54 47 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.isunet.edu ii Space Studies Program 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Our Team Project (TP) has been an international, interdisciplinary and intercultural journey which would not have been possible without the following people: Geoff Steeves, our chair, and Jaroslaw “JJ” Jaworski, our associate chair, provided guidance and motivation throughout our TP and helped us maintain our sanity. Øystein Borgersen and Pablo Melendres Claros, our teaching associates, worked hard with us through many long days and late nights. Our staff editors: on-site editor Ryan Clement, remote editor Merryl Azriel, and graphics editor Andrée-Anne Parent, helped us better communicate our ideas. Juan de Dalmau, Omar Hatamleh, Goktug “G2” Karacalioglu, and Alex Ryan, our ISU academic staff, supported our boundary-breaking concepts. Our knowledgeable experts, listed below, taught us more than we could have imagined about topics ranging from rocket science to space law. We would also like to separately mention our guest lecturer Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, who awed us with his presence. Alastair Reynolds (Science Fiction Author) Angie Bukley (The Aerospace Corporation) Buzz Aldrin (Astronaut) Daniel Glover (Former NASA System Engineer) Dimitra Stefoudi (Space Lawyer) François Spiero (CNES Strategic Roadmaps) Gilles Clément (Space Medicine Specialist) Jacob Cohen (Chief Scientist, NASA AMES) Jancy McPhee (Human Exploration and Spaceflight) Jean-François Clervoy (Astronaut) Jim Green (Chief Scientist, NASA) John Connolly (NASA Johnson Space Center) Kathryn Denning (Anthropologist) Max Fagin (Made in Space) Michel van Pelt (Cost Engineer) Pete Worden (Former Director of NASA's AMES Research Center) Pieter Blue (Maxwell Institute, the University of Edinburgh) Ryan Weed (Positron Dynamics) Sebastian Frederiksen and Karl-Johan Sørensen (Space Architects) Stephanie Thomas (Princeton Satellite Systems) Steve Brody (Former NASA Program Executive) William Kramer (Extraterrestrial Environmental Analyst) ISU and Team Project Fast Transit To Mars wish to express their sincere appreciation to NASA, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the UAE Space Agency for their sponsorship of this project. We shared laughs, tears, and hugs with our fellow SSP19 participants and will always remember this spectacular ISU SSP experience. International Space University iii LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Aditi Nilvarna Anastasia Medvedeva Bowen Han Cheng Cheng Daniel Saslavsky Erin Kennedy Feng Ji Gustavo Jamanca Lino Hamda Alshehhi Itai Norber Jacek Wrobel Jason Dowling Jennifer Zhu Jin Young Choi Julien Villa-Massone Kathiravan Thangavel Lisa Kucher Nathalie Kerstens Nitya Pandey Pablo Bedialauneta Padmdeo Mishra Praveen Kumar Thakur Qiang Gao Raphael Roettgen Rijin Kv Sumaya Al Hajeri Tess Morris-Paterson Tina Staebler Tommaso Tonina Xuemei Zou Yang Zhu Yushou Zhao Zihan Jiao International Space University iv ABSTRACT This document summarizes the research performed as part of the Fast Transit to Mars Team Project within the 2019 Space Studies Program (SSP) at the International Space University (ISU). Our goal was to determine a method for crewed fast transit using continuous acceleration to reduce the mission length from eighteen months to weeks. This will minimize exposure to radiation and microgravity for human travelers. Important project subteams were identified to handle mission feasibility and hazards, mission profile and orbits, aspects of business and law, spacecraft design, human performance in space, and humanities. The choice of these subteams reflected ISU’s spirit of interdisciplinary research. After defining the mission top level requirements, the Team Project (TP) reviewed and evaluated a wide range of propulsion technologies. This main outcome of the first part of our project was to identify two promising propulsion systems, antimatter catalyzed fusion propulsion and magnetic inertial confinement fusion. Despite our current level of technical readiness, we should be capable of achieving our mission of reaching up to 1g acceleration. In the second part of our project, we defined a mission scenario to demonstrate how this technology could be applied to a fast transit to Mars. In the final part of this report, we presented a roadmap to achieve the goal by 2050, identifying new opportunities arising from this technology and discussing potential impacts of this travel on our society. The report concludes with a summary and pledge for decision makers. International Space University v FACULTY PREFACE “Propulsion physics is certainly my #1 challenge. With the current chemical propulsion physics we have, humans will not move out of our solar system, and will probably get only as far as Mars.” - John Connolly - Mars Study Capability Team Lead at NASA Developing transportation technologies from the steam engine to the jet, has allowed us to easily traverse the vast distances of our planet. The result is reduced barriers to the movement of people, resources, and ideas. Beyond Earth, our ephemeral connections to the moon and solar system have been shaped by the technology of chemical propulsion. The modest energy densities of chemical bonds have enabled human flights into low Earth orbit and to the Moon, but new methods are required to migrate to Mars and beyond. Power derived through fission, fusion, and antimatter annihilation, will enable rapid transportation and exploration of the solar system. For nine weeks, a team of 33 people from 17 countries, investigated new propulsion technologies and potential effects on a burgeoning space society. The group has sourced hundreds of published journal articles and consulted with scientists, engineers, business professionals, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers. After conducting thorough research and analysis of existing knowledge gaps, the team identified ten possible propulsion technologies to consider. After an interdisciplinary review, they selected the most viable propulsion system, antimatter catalyzed nuclear fusion, as a technology capable of journeying to Mars in mere days. The team created a developmental roadmap to outline how this new propulsion system could be realized by 2050 and considered its societal impact. This work will empower decision-makers to boost research and development funding now and help bring about a new era within our lifetimes. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside the participants of TP Fast Transit, an ambitious and determined group, eager to make a difference. You are stars shining with a brilliance to surpass great distances. Geoff Steeves Jaroslaw Jaworski International Space University vi PARTICIPANT PREFACE The SSP experience is something out of this world. For two months, you are placed within a semi-confined environment with hundreds of people only to meet the most incredible individuals, speak to the crème de la crème of the space world, make friends and learn about yourself. This year, being the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, gave us big shoes to fill. The moment when the first people walked on the Moon, represented a single moment in history encapsulating what humanity can achieve when challenged with an audacious target. Since then, images and stories about the astronauts have spread across the world and inspired generations to come. The Apollo missions were the culmination of a new era of ambitious thinking. We wanted to exceed our limits and build a case for a Fast Transit to Mars. Realizing that the scope, the propulsion, and the whole mission concept was in our hands, we decided to imagine something inspiring, daring, and possible. Please enjoy this journey where the imagination, technological ingenuity, and perseverance of our team has led us. The sky is not the limit. Thank you to everyone who challenged us and made us become better interplanetary citizens. “Get your ass to Mars!” Buzz Aldrin ISU, July 2019 International Space University vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Participants .................................................................................................................................. iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... v Faculty Preface ......................................................................................................................................