SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITIES ENABLED BY HUMAN EXPLORATION BEYOND LOW-EARTH ORBIT AN ISECG SCIENCE WHITE PAPER 1 ABOUT ISECG Space agencies participating in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) are discussing an international approach for human and robotic space exploration to achieve broad societal, intellectual and economic benefits. This document is a White Paper of scientific opportunities enabled by the presence of humans, and their supporting infrastructure, as they explore the Solar System, as documented in ISECG’s Global Exploration Roadmap. The Science White Paper informs the evolution of the Global Exploration Roadmap. It was developed by ISECG agencies together with a Science Advisory Group, including representatives from the international science community and reflecting the views and inputs from an open interaction with this community. ISECG was established to advance the Global Exploration Strategy by providing a non-binding forum where space agencies share their objectives and plans, and explore synergistic concepts. ISECG agencies are committed to the development of non-binding products that enable participating agencies to take concrete steps toward partnerships that reflect a globally coordinated exploration effort. 2 Executive Summary pag. 4 CHAPTER 1: Introduction pag. 7 CHAPTER 2: The Scientific Imperative – pag. 11 Overarching Science Themes CHAPTER 3: Humans to a Gateway pag. 13 in the Lunar Vicinity TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE CHAPTER 4: Humans to the Lunar Surface pag. 17 CHAPTER 5: Humans to a Near-Earth Asteroid pag. 23 CHAPTER 6: Mars – The Horizon Goal pag. 29 CHAPTER 7: Conclusions pag. 31 APPENDIX 1: Selected International Science and pag. 32 Strategy Documents APPENDIX 2: Science Advisory Group pag. 34 3 infrastructure can support CubeSats and small EXECUTIVE SUMMARY satellites by providing services such as deployment and communication relay. It can facilitate remote The Global Exploration Roadmap reflects a controlled robotic exploration on the lunar surface. coordinated international effort to prepare for space It can also be used for investigations in areas such exploration missions beginning with the International as astronomy, fundamental physics, collecting Space Station and continuing to the lunar vicinity, the interplanetary materials, and heliophysics. Moon, asteroids and Mars. These missions are part of an exploration endeavour available for pursuit by The Lunar Surface: Scientific investigations, all space agencies, on their own or in collaboration including collecting the right samples, on the Moon with others. Human exploration drives innovation will improve our understanding of the origin and and economic expansion, addresses space and evolution of the Earth-Moon system, and of terrestrial terrestrial challenges to improve life on Earth, and planets in general. The Moon has experienced many inspires people around the world. Integral to these of the geologic processes that have shaped the benefits are scientific investigation and discovery. terrestrial planets in our Solar System (e.g. impact cratering, volcanism, tectonics, etc.). We can date The Scientific Imperative: Space exploration will impact events and decipher the impact flux for the result in scientific discoveries that have significance Earth-Moon system over geologic time to better not only to the international science community but understand its role for the evolution or extinction of life to humanity as a whole. Opportunities for scientific on Earth. The lunar soil and subsurface also provide a discovery associated with exploration missions are historical repository of the Solar System’s evolution. broadly captured in two themes: “Understanding Our Human presence could permit the emplacement Place in the Universe” and “Living and Working in of delicate surface instrumentation on the lunar Space”. surface. Indeed, the far side of the Moon is unique • Understanding Our Place in the Universe: This in that it is “radio quiet”, offering the opportunity for theme is about discerning the physical nature of sensitive radio astronomy measurements that look the Universe around us and our place within it. back in time to the earliest moments of the Universe. We want to understand the Earth-Moon system, Investigating the physiological response to working asteroids and Mars and how they formed and in reduced gravity on the lunar surface could help developed. We will conduct new observations of prepare for keeping humans healthy on the surface the cosmos, including our own Earth. Finally, we of Mars, whilst providing new insights into a range of will attempt to understand the formation and the human health issues for Earth. evolution of life. • Living and Working in Space: This theme is Near-Earth Asteroids: Near-Earth asteroids exhibit reflecting the drive for humans to extend our considerable diversity within their population and they reach into space, which also provides important have witnessed events and conditions throughout the scientific and technological advances to improve history of the Solar System. The presence of humans life on Earth. We want to learn more about how will permit placement of complex instruments on humans safely explore the Solar System, and the asteroid surface, as well as the ability to sample reduce risks that humans face in space. We also surface and subsurface sites to obtain information want to learn about the local resources in our on the ancient history of the Solar System which planetary neighbourhood, and how explorers larger, evolved planetary bodies have lost. Carefully can maximise the use of what we find around us. chosen samples by a trained explorer can also help us to better understand the thousands of meteorites The Next Step Beyond Low-Earth Orbit: The vicinity we already have available for study by scientists, of the Moon is the ideal location as the next step providing geologic context to meteorites that have in the expansion of human space activity from the formed much of the paradigm for the origin of the International Space Station leading to investigations Solar System. We will also work to better understand of the Moon, asteroids, and Mars. This deep the internal structures of Near-Earth Asteroids, a space environment enables testing and validation vital part of the puzzle needed in order to develop of habitation systems and related operations mitigation strategies for addressing threats from an techniques, while remaining close enough to Earth Earth-bound asteroid. as we learn to manage exploration mission risks. Increasingly longer duration missions to a habitat Mars: Mars is the shared horizon goal driving in the deep space environment enable study of the sustainable human exploration. Mars has the greatest interplay of radiation, microgravity and isolation similarity to Earth in past and current planetary on human health valuable for future spaceflight to processes, and may have the best record of when more distant destinations, notably Mars, as well life started in our Solar System and of catastrophic as health research applicable back on Earth. The change in planetary evolution. Our robotic missions 4 have shown that Mars has significant water that is observations, thus returning the best samples promising for the possible existence of life (past and/ to address specific science and exploration or present) and supporting humans. Exploration of questions. In addition, human missions typically Mars will result in answers to profound scientific and return larger amounts of samples per flight. philosophical questions such as: How did life start in our Solar System? Did life exist on Mars and does it • Humans are uniquely capable of installing, exist today? What can we learn about Earth’s past and maintaining, upgrading, and troubleshooting future by studying Mars? Building on over 50 years problems with complex scientific equipment, of robotic-enabled science and eventually, sample as historically exemplified with the Hubble return, human explorers on the surface of Mars will telescope servicing missions. be critical to reveal the subtleties needed to answer these complex and fundamental questions. Humans • Humans can often achieve tasks faster than will make possible intelligent sampling in geologic robots and act intelligently in exploratory science. context, iterative environmental field investigations and sample preparation/analyses in a habitat-based • As demonstrated by Apollo and on the laboratory. Humans will advance a multi-disciplinary International Space Station, humans are unique set of scientific objectives, such as investigations in their ability to recognize and to adapt their into astrobiology, atmospheric science, medicine, response to new observations or serendipitous and geoscience. discoveries. The Value of Human Explorers for Science: In addition to scientific benefits, gaining operational Human exploration brings the human element to the experience in deep space or on a planetary surface is forefront of scientific discovery, bringing flexibility, extremely beneficial for the later exploration of more adaptability, experience, dexterity, creativity, distant targets, such as Mars. intuition, and the ability to make real time decisions. This was demonstrated by the Apollo missions to the Humans have long looked to the stars and asked, lunar surface. While some science objectives can be “What is out there?” Exploration, investigation, and achieved by suitably implemented robotic missions, scientific discovery are essential elements