Marswalk One First Steps on a New Planet David J. Shayler, Andrew Salmon and Michael D. Shayler Mars walk One First Steps on a New Planet Published in association with ^ Springer Praxis Publishing pR Chichester, UK David J. Shayler, FBIS Andrew Salmon, BSc (Hon) Michael D. Shayler Astronautical Historian Space Writer Editor and Designer Astro Info Service Astronautics News Astro Info Service Halesowen Smethwick Hall Green West Midlands West Midlands Birmingham UK UK UK SPRINGER-PRAXIS BOOKS IN SPACE EXPLORATION SUBJECT ADVISORY EDITOR: John Mason B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D. ISBN 1-85233-792-3 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Springer is a part of Springer Science + Business Media (springeronline.com) Library of Congress Control Number: 2005922813 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. © Copyright, 2005 Praxis Publishing Ltd. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: Jim Wilkie Copy editing and graphics processing: R. A. Marriott Typesetting: BookEns Ltd, Royston, Herts., UK Printed in Germany on acid-free paper Printing: Mercedes-Druck, Berlin Binding: Stein+Lehmann, Berlin This book is dedicated to the lasting memory of William HJ. Salmon (1924-1985) and Derek J. Shayler (1927-2002) *v 'Magnificent desolation' - a view of Mars' terrain and horizon, from Spirit, 2004 'Man's first step on Mars will be no less exciting than Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon' Wernher von Braun, from his Manned Mars Landing presentation to the Space Task Group on 4 August 1969, two weeks after Neil Armstrong took his 'small step' on the Moon Other books by David J. Shayler in this series Disasters and Accidents in Manned Spaceflight (2000), ISBN 1-85233-225-5 Skylab: Americas Space Station (2001), ISBN 1-85233-407-X Gemini: Steps to the Moon (2001), ISBN 1-85233-405-3 Apollo: The Lost and Forgotten Missions (2002), ISBN 1-85233-575-0 Walking in Space (2004), ISBN 1-85233-710-9 With Rex D. Hall The Rocket Men (2001), ISBN 1-85233-391-X Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft (2003), ISBN 1-85233-657-9 With Ian A. Moule Women in Space: Following Valentina (2005), ISBN 1-85233-744-3 Table of contents Foreword xiii Authors' preface xvii Acknowledgements xix List of illustrations xxi Prologue xxiii DESTINATION MARS 1 Time and motion study 2 Orbital close-up 3 Home from home 4 Observing Mars 6 A rusty planet 6 Something in the air 7 On the ground 9 Mountain high 10 Grand canyons 12 Channels and valleys 12 Ice caps 13 Phobos and Deimos 14 Prospects for landing 17 References 18 HISTORY OF MARS EXPLORATION 20 Boldly sending, not boldly going 20 Robotics 21 Early attempts 21 1965: Mariner 4 22 1969: the Moon and Mars 22 1971: Mariner 9, and some success for the USSR 23 1974: Red Fleet 25 1976: Viking invasion 27 viii Table of contents 1989: a different target 28 The 1990s: mixed fortunes 29 Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor 29 A new player 31 American setbacks 32 Mars Odyssey 33 Another new kid on the block 33 Rovers hit the ground 'on the bounce' 34 Future plans 35 Safe landing sites 35 Where do we go first? 35 Landing sites 36 Information is everything 39 Scientific influences on the choice of landing sites 41 References 42 VOYAGE TO MARS 43 Training 44 Mars on Earth 44 Equipment and procedures 47 Way stations to Mars 47 Life in low gravity 48 Tools for the job 49 The crew 51 Human skills 51 The university of life 52 The value of an engineer 53 The journey to Mars 54 Crossing the void 55 Celestial mechanics 57 Keeping the kids amused 58 Medical implications 60 Mind over matter 61 Radiation 62 EVA on the way 63 Arrival at Mars 63 Approach speed 63 Heavy pressure 64 Orbital operations 65 Science from Mars orbit 65 Work by the astronauts in orbit 67 Telerobotics 68 To land, or not to land 70 Communications 70 TDRS, or ground stations 70 Table of contents ix Areocentric satellites 71 Solar conjunction interference 71 Spacecraft communications 72 References 72 EVOLUTION OF A MARSWALK 75 Concepts for a Marswalk 75 Das Marsprojekt 75 Cosmonauts on Mars by 1969? 76 Early NASA plans, 1960-64 77 The golden era, 1968-71 78 Mars in a new light 82 Mars Direct 84 How long to stay? 86 Hazards for EVA on Mars 88 The 1989 study report 89 NASA's Mars Reference Mission 90 Walk the walk 91 2001: a Mars workshop 91 Drawing on four decades of experience 93 2004: a new spirit of discovery 94 References 94 WARDROBE FOR MARS 97 New technology using old ideas 97 Walking on the wild side 97 Which way to go? 99 From surface to sea bed 100 Advantages and disadvantages of atmospheric diving suits 103 From sea to space 105 Ultimate high-altitude pressure suits and cabins 105 Surface exploration suit development 106 Suited for Apollo 107 Suited for the Moon 110 Early hard suits for space Ill The RX suit programme 112 Suited for Space Shuttle and space station 117 Soviet developments 118 The first planetary EVA suit 119 Physical and environmental limitations 119 Information technology 121 New ideas for a new goal 121 Scenarios for EVA suit utilisation 124 Considerations for access to and from the martian surface 125 Developments towards a Mars EVA suit 127 x Table of contents Zvezda evaluations 127 The I, D and H demonstration suits 127 Support technologies 128 Mars suit requirements 129 References 131 SURFACE EXPLORATION 133 Potential crew activities on Mars 133 Learning from Apollo 135 A study in surface activities 140 Crew-member suggestions 141 Initial surface activities 142 Mission control in orbit 142 Why 90 days? 143 Surface exploration: 1989 study plans 144 Definition of a Mars EVA task 144 Planning the EVAs 145 Achieving the objectives 147 Operational requirements 150 Hypothetical scenario 151 EVA on Mars: the operational issues 154 Early extended expeditions 154 EVA planning 157 Communications 160 EVA communications 161 Field camps 162 Field geology 163 EVA support 164 Robots on surface traverses 164 Partners working together 166 The dangers of EVA 167 Hazards on Mars 168 Dust-storms 168 Radiation 169 Medical considerations 169 Mobility 170 References 171 SCIENCE ON THE SURFACE 173 Areas of research 173 A reason to go 174 Tools of the trade 174 Surface science and applications 175 The geosciences 178 Weather and climate 179 Table of contents xi Upper atmospheric physics 180 Dust 180 Radiation 181 Equipment 181 Surface science packages 181 Comparison of ALSEP and MSEP 182 Lander science laboratory 186 Laboratory design 186 Sample analysis in the laboratory 187 Sample collection on Mars 187 Microscopes 188 Learning and returning 188 Science on traverses 189 Size of the field party 189 Other considerations 189 Justification for human scientists on Mars 190 References 192 LIVING THE DREAM 193 Crew training 193 Hardware 196 Habitation on Mars 196 The working environment 199 Life support systems 200 The working day 202 Medical considerations 203 Hygiene 204 Clothing 205 Food preparation and meals 206 Waste disposal 208 Sleep 210 Storage 211 Communications 211 Leisure time 213 Mechanics and repairs 215 Learning to live in space 216 References 217 THE RETURN 219 The return to Earth 219 Pre-departure operations 219 Coming home 220 Public affairs at home 222 Martian samples 222 Analysis 223 xii Table of contents Contamination 224 The return to Mars 225 Beyond Mars 226 References 228 Chronology 229 Bibliography 237 Index 241 Foreword On 14 January 2004, President George W. Bush appeared before employees at NASA headquarters and announced 'a new plan to explore space and extend a human presence across our Solar System.' This initiative energises and refocuses NASA on new goals that include manned missions to the Moon by 2015 and a permanent lunar base by 2020, with Mars as an ultimate objective. The President stated: 'We will build new ships to carry men forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the Moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond our own.' The schedule presented calls for a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to be developed and tested by 2008, for robotic rovers to begin exploring the lunar surface, and for the International Space Station (ISS) to be completed, and the Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) to be retired by 2010. The CEV is to begin human space flight by 2014, and return to the Moon and establish a lunar base between the years 2015 and 2020. Missions to Mars would commence beyond 2020. To assist NASA, the President named Edward 'Pete' Aldridge, former Secretary of the Air Force, to be Chairman of the new Space Exploration Commission. The Chairman and his Commission had 120 days to make recommendations to President Bush. Aldridge has stated that priorities will certainly touch on affordability, the talent base at NASA, and contributions by other countries and commercial enterprises.