{"id":39857,"date":"2013-05-09T22:12:40","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T14:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/a-return-to-the-moon-would-send-nasa-back-to-square-one-bolden\/"},"modified":"2013-05-09T22:12:40","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T14:12:40","slug":"a-return-to-the-moon-would-send-nasa-back-to-square-one-bolden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/a-return-to-the-moon-would-send-nasa-back-to-square-one-bolden\/","title":{"rendered":"A return to the Moon would send NASA back to square one \u2013 Bolden"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has strongly ruled out missions to land on the Moon as part of NASA\u2019s exploration roadmap, claiming any future political re-direction to return humans to the lunar surface would send the Agency \u201cback to square one\u201d. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman have completed their Lunar Lander Study on behalf of the Golden Spike Company.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

No Go To The Moon:<\/p>\n

In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, the Vision For Space Exploration (VSE) provided NASA with a roadmap to retire the Space Shuttle fleet after the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) was completed, prior to focusing on a return to the surface of the Moon via the Constellation Program (CxP).<\/p>\n

\u201cMoon, Mars and Beyond\u201d was the goal, with a return to the Lunar surface classed as a required stepping stone on the path to Mars.<\/p>\n

Following the demise of the Constellation Program, the focus switched to missions to visit a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA), before once again taking aim on what has consistently been NASA\u2019s big goal of sending humans to Mars.<\/p>\n

\"SectionThis new roadmap is still \u2013 and is likely to remain for some time \u2013 under construction, with only Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1) all-but set in stone for the debut launch of the Space Launch System (SLS), sending an uncrewed Orion on a fly-by of the Moon in 2017.<\/p>\n

Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) was to be tasked with a crewed version of EM-1, on a slightly longer mission that allowed for several orbits of the Moon.<\/p>\n

Space Shuttle models<\/path>Space tourism guides<\/path>NASA educational resources<\/path>\n

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However, that mission has since been re-purposed into an ambitious flight of an Orion crew to \u201cget hands on\u201d with a captured asteroid.<\/p>\n

\"LongThe following missions for SLS and Orion remain undefined, with the SLS manifest to 2032 (L2) only showing placeholders for one SLS launch per year, as the vehicle evolves from its 70mT capability, through to 105mT and eventually its fully evolved state as a 130mT capable Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV), required for what NASA claim will be missions to Mars in the mid-2030s.<\/p>\n

It is likely NASA will undertake yet more ambitious NEA missions in the mid 2020s, venturing further out into deep space, as they validate the technology required for keeping a crew alive on missions lasting hundreds of days.<\/p>\n

\"ExplorationThere also remains the possibility NASA will further evaluate the potential for an Exploration Platform, or Gateway, constructed at the ISS and sent out via Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) to the EML2 location. However, such a facility is yet to receive any notable political support.<\/p>\n

Although missions to the lunar surface have never been fully promoted by NASA\u2019s leadership since the end of the Constellation Program, the option has always been there, as seen via the internal exploration roadmap evaluation process.<\/p>\n

Internal documentation placed the potential for NASA missions to the Moon within the ESD Concept Of Operations (Con Ops) presentations (L2) \u2013 listing it alongside the main NEA (Earth Earth Asteroid) missions under the Architectural Timeframe Design Reference Missions (DRMs).<\/p>\n

\"Altair\u201cLunar Surface Sortie (LSS): Lands four crew members on the surface of the Moon in the equatorial or Polar Regions and returns them to Earth,\u201d noted one such example within the ESD Con Ops presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpected drivers include: MPCV (Orion) operations in LLO (Low Lunar Orbit) environment, MPCV uncrewed ops phase, MPCV delta V requirements, RPOD (Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking), MPCV number of habitable days.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, footsteps back on the Moon \u2013 at least via the boots of NASA astronauts \u2013 appears to be no longer a viable option, with General Bolden throwing a large amount of cold water on the prospect this year.<\/p>\n

Per the issues, almost all related to NASA\u2019s restrictive budget, General Bolden recently provided one example as to why NASA won\u2019t be returning to the Moon, namely the apparent cost of the Lander.<\/p>\n

\"AltairDuring the Constellation Program, the lander \u2013 known as Altair \u2013 was already into the planning stages at the related NASA centers. However, Altair died, along with its launch vehicle \u2013 the Ares V \u2013 when CxP ended.<\/p>\n

After being asked about the possibility of inserting lunar surface sorties into the exploration roadmap at a recent congressional hearing, General Bolden made the claim it would cost NASA between $8-10 billion to resurrect Altair through to the point of achieving lunar landings with it.<\/p>\n

General Bolden followed up his comments during this week\u2019s Explore Mars event, in which he praised the current \u2013 albeit yet undefined \u2013 roadmap as \u201crealistic, affordable and sustainable\u201d, providing the path remained focused on Mars in the 2030s.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n