{"id":39321,"date":"2015-06-05T01:39:35","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T17:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-looks-to-in-situ-resource-use-for-deep-space-missions-and-crews\/"},"modified":"2015-06-05T01:39:35","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T17:39:35","slug":"nasa-looks-to-in-situ-resource-use-for-deep-space-missions-and-crews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-looks-to-in-situ-resource-use-for-deep-space-missions-and-crews\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA looks to in-situ resource use for deep space missions and crews"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA is exploring a shift toward the development of technologies for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) \u2013 a development that could allow crews to make use of natural resources at their mission destinations \u2013 with a focus on crewed missions to Mars \u2013 instead of taking all needed supplies with them from Earth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Taking it all with you:<\/p>\n

The delicate balance between what and how much equipment and supplies to launch with a space mission has always been a chief concern in spaceflight operations and mission planning.<\/p>\n

In spaceflight, there is always a need to balance the amount of supplies packed onto the spacecraft versus how much the spacecraft\u2019s boosters and engines can actually deliver to the intended destination.<\/p>\n

\"2015-06-05-000235\"Toward the end of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), this delicate balance also saw the added factor of needing to put as much equipment onto the vehicle for missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as possible before the completion of the program\u2019s lifetime.<\/p>\n

Thus, a vast majority of the final Space Shuttle missions launched at or very near their maximum up-mass capability in terms of supplies and mission needs.<\/p>\n

But this up-mass concern was not always limited to supplies.<\/p>\n

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\"2015-06-05-000358\"During the multi-month delay to the STS-117 Atlantis mission in 2007, the need for that mission to take on the role of crew rotation flight for the ISS caused some concern as the mission\u2019s payload was already near the up-mass limit for Atlantis \u2013 a limit that originally restricted the crew size to six instead of seven.<\/p>\n

For the STS-117 mission, the fact that the multi-month delay pushed the flight\u2019s launch out of the winter months and into the summer months created more up-mass capability \u2013 as the Shuttle as a launch system performed more efficiently in summer months than in winter months.<\/p>\n

This largely solved the up-mass issue for STS-117, and the addition of the seventh crewmember became less of a concern \u2013 though payload and supply weight was still carefully monitored in the weeks leading up to the launch of the mission.<\/p>\n

\"2015-06-05-000523\"Likewise, when Atlantis\u2019s much-anticipated STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope was delayed in the final weeks of pad processing due to a problem on Hubble, the fix seemed simple at first: Put a replacement part for the one that malfunction on Hubble on Atlantis and launch the mission at a later date.<\/p>\n

However, Atlantis was once again near her maximum up-mass capability, and adding an additional component, while doable, put the mission near its maximum up-mass limit.<\/p>\n

The solution in this case was to give extra margin for up-mass capability and launch performance, which was accomplished by swapping the Solid Rocket Booster (SRBs) stacks for STS-119 and STS-125.<\/p>\n

\"\"Since the STS-119 SRBs were cast for a winter launch, their power was slightly enhanced to counter the decreased performance of the Shuttle during a winter launch.<\/p>\n

Thus, the increased power would now be with Atlantis on a Summer-time launch to Hubble \u2013 adding launch performance and up-mass capability.<\/p>\n

But it was not just these two Shuttle missions that experienced the difficulty of having to balance the needs of the mission with taking everything needed with the crew from the moment of launch.<\/p>\n

Every space mission, be it the other 133 Shuttle missions, the Apollo lunar missions, unmanned satellite launches, etc. must take everything necessary for the mission with it at launch.<\/p>\n

Until now.<\/p>\n

ISS \u2013 waste water reclamation and 3-D printing:<\/p>\n

While physical supplies certainly needed to be launched with a mission, there have been, for several decades, certain items that could be produced on orbit instead.<\/p>\n

During a Space Shuttle mission, most of the crew\u2019s drinking water came as a byproduct of the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen for the vehicle\u2019s fuel cells.<\/p>\n

\"2015-06-05-000700\"In this case, only the hydrogen and oxygen had to be carried with the mission from launch. The water was produced from those chemical components, during the process to create electricity for the Orbiter, on orbit.<\/p>\n

Likewise, for many years now, crews aboard the ISS have been able to use the wastewater reclamation system (which turns wastewater into purified potable water) to reduce the amount of water launched from Earth on ISS resupply missions.<\/p>\n

Moreover, NASA has made use of increasing technological capabilities to provide more efficient service to ISS needs.<\/p>\n

Most notably was when an equipment failure on ISS necessitated the need for a wrench as part of the repairs.<\/p>\n

\"2015-06-05-000800\"Not having the needed wrench on board the Space Station would normally have meant waiting to repair the piece of equipment until the next resupply mission could be launched to deliver the wrench from the ground.<\/p>\n

But the Space Station\u2019s 3-D printer provided another option. NASA could simply email the specifications for printing the wrench to the Station\u2019s crew and they could then print the wrench and use it to repair the piece of equipment.<\/p>\n

Which is exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

In this manner, while all of the ingredients needed to produce the wrench had already been launched to the ISS, NASA could use those resources already present in the most efficient way possible.<\/p>\n

Using the resources that are there:<\/p>\n

And this is exactly what NASA is now looking to do for long-term deep space exploration missions to the moon, asteroids, and Mars.<\/p>\n

To allow for this, NASA has begun developing the resources and capabilities here on Earth needed to facilitate such in-situ utilization of resources.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n