Inspiration Mars: Team Jasper
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Inspiration Mars: Team JASPer Alex Nikle [email protected] Patrick Boyce [email protected] Joyce K. Greene [email protected] Sarah Pyle [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................3 Trajectory ...................................................................................................................................5 Reentry .......................................................................................................................................9 Launch and Assembly ..............................................................................................................13 Chariot Assembly.........................................................................................................15 Phase Zero ....................................................................................................................16 Phase One.....................................................................................................................17 Phase Two ....................................................................................................................17 Phase Three ..................................................................................................................18 Phase Four ....................................................................................................................18 Chariot Habitat Design ............................................................................................................19 Interior..........................................................................................................................19 Radiation Shielding ......................................................................................................21 Physiological Constrains ..............................................................................................26 Psychological Considerations ......................................................................................27 Chariot Environmental and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) ...................................................28 Engineering Busses ..................................................................................................................34 Power ...........................................................................................................................35 Navigation ....................................................................................................................36 Communication ............................................................................................................37 Astronaut Selection ..................................................................................................................40 Chariot Economics ...................................................................................................................42 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................45 References ................................................................................................................................46 Chariot Page 2 INTRODUCTION Human spaceflight and space exploration have come a long way in the last 60 years. The dream of man voyaging into outer space was merely science fiction until April 1961, when Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the historic journey into space. Shortly thereafter, the race to reach the Moon began between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. In less than a decade, the question of which superpower would reach the Moon first was settled when the first footprints were forever imprinted on the lunar surface on July 1969, by two American Astronauts. Two decades later, the Space Shuttle fleet launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) and ferried equipment to help build the International Space Station (ISS). When the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, private industries with the support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) emerged. This filled a gap in U.S. launch capability where the Space Shuttle left off. The question now is what’s next? Now that NASA has contracted International Space Station resupply missions to private industries, they have the capability to steer attention toward exploration beyond what they are already capable of. Although Mars is the next dream destination for manned exploration, the journey and survivability to get to the next celestial body and back will be the hardest feat to overcome in space efforts to date. A manned mission to Mars requires exposure to the elements of deep space for durations experienced by no other in human history. This mission would certainly test the capabilities and limits of modern space engineering to ensure the survival and safe return of the crewmembers aboard. The Mars Society continues to support this major step in manned space exploration through the creation of the Inspiration Mars Competition. This contest requires a proposal of a fly-by mission design to the red planet. The competition is open to all universities throughout the world in effort to inspire students to participate in space exploration and contribute ideas into future space engineering designs. We, the members of team JASPer, have elected to participate in this competition by submitting the following mission design. This proposal includes history, policy, economics, and of course engineering and science requirements to accomplish such a daunting challenge. It is our belief that this mission design proposal uniquely satisfies these requirements that will support the first real-life human mission to Mars whether that is in 2018 or anytime beyond. The members of Team JASPer are proud to be a part of this competition and hope that our design contributes to the future of human space exploration. Our spacecraft is named “Chariot.” Chariots, used as ancient “battle taxies” represented mobility and strength. Centuries after they ceased being used in battle, they continued being used in competition. Often manned by two personnel, they vied for speed. It seems appropriate that we should compete for a manned mission around Mars in a modern day “Chariot.” Are we competing against anyone? Russia? China? Europe? Is there in fact a space race going on? Maybe or maybe not depending on which space policy article one reads. The United States won the race to the Moon in 1969. China might meet that objective in the next decade or two. Arguably, this is a race with ourselves. It is a race for a personal best, for national pride, for the revitalization of our space industry, and for the inspiration of future generations. Chariot Page 3 Our Chariot’s three core elements are a Bigelow Aerospace 330 (BA330) habitat, a Dragon capsule for reentry, and a J-2X booster engine that is being designed for NASA’s Space Launch System. We will assemble our 55,000 kg spacecraft in low Earth orbit with the support of the International Space Station. SpaceX will provide the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles for this mission. NASA will support with J-2X booster technology, ISS activity, astronaut training, access to its near Earth and deep space communications systems, and sharing in its public outreach program support. Our fuel tanks usefulness will not end after the trans- Mars injection boost. They will be built around our habitat to provide a redundant radiation shield for the BA330, the heart of our mission. It is designed predominantly as self-contained space station. It contains its own power systems, communications, thermal regulation, navigation and life support systems that our team will both use and augment to ensure success during the 501 day mission. It is built to withstand micrometeoroid and space debris strikes as well as a moderate amount of solar and galactic radiation. Its 330 m3 internal volume dwarfs the internal volume of an Orion capsule and will thus allow more supplies, more equipment, and more redundancy to make this mission a success. Furthermore its size will allow astronauts more room to spread out for more optimal psychological readiness. If all required programs maintain their current development progressions then our Chariot may be ready for the 2018 launch. This will require a proactive management team with a deep wallet. There should be no question that even if all systems are TRL 7-9 that this should still be considered a very high risk mission. The rewards are high though. The Apollo landing on the Moon in 1969 represented an achievement not just for the United States but for all mankind. As hard as it was, it was local. The next step will be to land on another planet. Once that happens, the others, such as landing on Jovian moons, will be milestone events but that “first” will not be lost. Those milestone events will owe their legacy to those that landed on the Moon and Mars. The Inspiration Mars mission is not about landing on Mars, this will not likely come until at least the 2030s if not decades later. The Apollo 8 lunar fly-by paved the way for the Apollo 11 landing just as the Inspiration Mars fly-by will pave the way for subsequent landing missions. Once proof of concept is established, the readiness and volume of future exploration may proceed. This Inspiration Mars mission is a test flight for our “Chariot”, the enabling technologies, and its effects on our astronauts’ ability to survive