© 2014 Lockheed Martin Corporation

Concept Study of a Cislunar Outpost Architecture and

Associated Elements that Enable a Path to Mars Presented by: Timothy Cichan Lockheed Martin Space timothy.cichan@lmco.com Mike Drever Lockheed Martin Space mike.drever@lmco.com Franco Fenoglio Thales Alenia Space Italy franco.fenoglio@thalesaleniaspace.com Willian D. Pratt Lockheed Martin Space william.d.pratt@lmco.com

Josh Hopkins Lockheed Martin Space josh.b.hopkins@lmco.com

September 2016

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Abstract During the course of human space exploration, astronauts have travelled all the way to the Moon on short flights and have logged missions of a year or more of continuous time on board Mir and the International Space Station (ISS), close to Earth. However, if the long term goal of space exploration is to land humans on the surface of Mars, NASA needs precursor missions that combine operating for very long durations and great distances. This will allow astronauts to learn how to work in deep space for months at a time and address many of the risks associated with a Mars mission lasting over 1,000 days in deep space, such as the inability to abort home or resupply in an emergency. A facility placed in an orbit in the vicinity of the Moon, called a Deep Space Transit Habitat (DSTH), is an ideal place to gain experience operating in deep space. This next generation of in-space habitation will be evolvable, flexible, and modular. It will allow astronauts to demonstrate they can operate for months at a time beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The DSTH can also be an international collaboration, with partnering nations contributing elements and major subsystems, based on their expertise. In addition to meeting human spaceflight objectives, the DSTH can help meet exploration science objectives. For example, astronauts in the DSTH could operate a robotic rover, in near real-time, to collect geological samples from lunar farside and return them to the outpost using an ascent vehicle. Returning samples from the South Pole–Aitken Basin (SPA) on the far side of the Moon has been identified as a priority in planetary science Decadal Surveys because it would help scientists understand the early dynamics and impact history of the solar system. Lockheed Martin is currently studying concepts for a DSTH architecture that evolves in capability over time. This work is being conducted both through internally funded work with partners like Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I) and through the NASA-funded NextSTEP Habitat program. The architecture includes elements such as power and propulsion modules, habitation modules, cargo pods, and an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Module. The outpost’s capabilities increase with each new element, incorporating lessons learned and new technologies that are needed for Mars such as closed loop life support, laser communication, advanced EVA, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), and robotics. Acronyms/Abbreviations ARM: Asteroid Retrieval Mission DRO: Distant Retrograde Orbit DSTH: Deep Space Transit Habitat EM: Exploration Mission EVA: Extra-Vehicular Activity FTO: Flight Test Objective ISRU: In-Situ Resource Utilization ISS: International Space Station LEO: Low Earth Orbit

LPI: Lunar and Planetary Institute NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration PG: Proving Ground PGO: Proving Ground Objective SEP: Solar Electric Propulsion System SPA: South Pole–Aitken Basin SLS: Space Launch System TAS-I: Thales Alenia Space Italy

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Introduction In recent decades, the goal of human spaceflight has been to land astronauts on the surface of Mars. However, that goal has always seemed to be firmly on the horizon, just out of reach. Several architecture studies have been conducted to determine the most efficient and safe method for conducting a Mars mission. One thing they all seem to agree on is that there are many variables involved and

potential ways to get there. While there are many paths one could take to get to Mars, they all must deal the same core set of challenges. In general, the challenges of a Mars mission can be broken down into three main categories, the long duration transits to and from the vicinity of Mars, the descent and ascent from the surface of Mars, and the actual stay on the surface of Mars. Depending on the

mission scenario, the voyage to and from Mars could last up to 12 months round-trip. This transit time represents some of the most risky parts of the entire mission, due to the lack of viable abort options. The challenges associated with Mars transits include: the increased crew autonomy due to long communication delays, the need for highly reliable and regenerative life support systems, the mitigation of deep space radiation, spacecraft serviceability,

supplies and logistics, and the increased risks to crew health due to long stays in micro gravity.

Astronauts have pushed the bounds of human endurance in space. Figure 1 depicts some of those achievements. A typical expedition on board the International Space Station (ISS) lasts around 180 days and in 2015-2016 Scott Kelly and Mikhail

Figure 1. Astronauts will need to learn to operate at much greater distances and durations than before in order to prepare for a mission to Mars.

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Korniyenko spent 340 days at the ISS. The record for the longest stay in space goes to Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days on Mir. Analysis of the long term effects of such extended stays in space is still ongoing—and even Polyakov’s record is still about one half the duration of an entire Mars mission. While a stay on the ISS doesn’t come without some risks, astronauts always have the ability to abort their mission in the case of an extreme emergency. Such scenarios can have a crew back on the ground within hours of initiating the abort. On trips to Mars, that will not be the case. The orbits of Earth and Mars mean that mission opportunities only occur roughly every 2 years, and the propulsive requirements are too great to allow astronauts to return home early in the case of an emergency. Humans have experienced this challenge to a certain degree. During the Apollo missions, astronauts traveled all the way to the Moon. Their abort options to safely return to Earth were measured in days not the minutes to hours of an ISS abort. For Mars there is no practical abort option. Even though the Apollo program was a great achievement in human spaceflight, those missions lasted only one to two weeks. A mission to Mars will take astronauts 1,000 times further away from Earth, and will last up to 3 years. To address the challenges of a Mars mission, it’s clear that what is needed is a test program that allows engineers and astronauts to gain experience working in deep space for long durations, at long distances from Earth. Such a program would increase both mission distance and duration, addressing strategic objectives with increasingly complex missions. Such a program will also require a core set of deep space elements. Two of these elements are

currently near completion, the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle. Additional required elements and a mission architecture developed by Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space Italy both privately and as a part of the NASA NextSTEP Habitation program are discussed in this paper.

Cislunar Proving Ground Architecture

To undertake a human mission to Mars, humans will need to develop the technology, systems and capabilities necessary to live in deep space for extended durations. As a key part of this preparation, NASA has established a set of proving ground objectives (PGO) and flight test objections (FTO) to identify what needs to be accomplished in cislunar space [1]. NASA envisions three exploration phases that incrementally build toward Mars travel [2]. The ISS is being used to begin the first phase, with ongoing research on the ISS aimed at developing techniques, protocols, and technology needed for deep space travel. Examples include maturation of highly regenerative life support systems, tele-operation of rovers on Earth, and simulated communications delays. NASA refers to this as Phase 0. The next phase, Phase 1, pushes further out into deep space beyond the Van Allen belts. The focus of Phase 1 is to gain confidence and understanding of the transportation systems used to access deep space, learning how to work in deep space and to make sure the crew stays healthy in the process.

Pursuit of these objectives requires the establishment of a Deep Space Transit Habitat (DSTH). Astronauts will demonstrate crewed flight operations in deep space and begin to increase crew autonomy. Once the majority of the PGOs are achieved, NASA expects to use

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the lessons learned to meet objectives for Phase 2, which provides the final development that will enable travel to Mars. Phase 2 will include the addition of advanced elements that will serve as precursors to the Mars transit elements. These new elements will contain Mars-class systems such as closed-loop life support and radiation protection. They will also provide more habitable volume and greater power and propulsion capability. The validation of Mars-class elements and vehicles will be accomplished with missions of increasing duration and distance from Earth. The final mission in Phase 2 might be a year-long mission to an asteroid in its native location. Missions in the Proving Ground incrementally expand our ability to explore space further from Earth and for longer durations while continuing to return valuable science. Many of the objectives are satisfied by deploying and operating a subsystem that enables living in deep space, such as closed loop life support. Other objectives are achieved as crews

perform science missions that are directly applicable to exploring Mars with astronauts, such as processing regolith into useful materials via In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Other objectives are met by operating at a greater distance from the Earth with time delays between the crew and Earth reaching around twenty minutes. Crew health on missions outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field or without an easy means to return to Earth quickly is a concern. The Proving Ground missions help broaden our understanding of and provide solutions for these and other crew health issues. As the flight test objectives are met, astronauts gain confidence and experience in operating more autonomously in deep space, (Table 1).

Architecture Elements

Lockheed Martin and our partners have been developing a set of vehicle modules to be a1ssembled and used in cis-lunar space for crews to meet Proving Ground Objectives over the course of several missions (Figure 2). The DSTH is evolvable, flexible, and modular so that as we learn, we can grow and change the

Proving Ground Objectives

ISS Testing

EM-1 EM-2 EM-3 EM-4 EM-5 EM-6 EM-7 EM-8 EM-9

Transportation

Habitation Working In Space

Operations Working In Space

Exploration Working In Space

Staying Healthy

Table 1: Each mission in the proving ground meets critical flight test objectives and increases Mars readiness.

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system to meet new needs and objectives. The Proving Ground objectives are separated into three phases, starting as ISS and ending with a deep space excursion far beyond the Earth Moon System. The focus of this paper is on the Phase 1 elements that operate beyond the immediate safety of LEO.

Figure 2. The Elements of the Proving Ground

Architecture that will broaden our understanding of and provide solutions for the challenges of

long-term living in space.

3.1 Orion

Orion is the next-generation human exploration spacecraft being developed by NASA. The Orion spacecraft includes a launch abort system, a pressurized capsule with living space for four astronauts, and an attached service module, provided by the European Space Agency, which provides propulsion, solar power, and thermal management Orion independently provides the capabilities to safely carry four astronauts from Earth to beyond the Moon (Figure 3). The elements of the Proving Ground Mission Architecture augment Orion’s capabilities to allow for more ambitious missions. In a mated configuration, where consumables are not used or are resupplied from the DSTH, Orion has an

operational lifetime of at least 1000 days. Orion specifications are shown in Table 2, and the spacecraft is described in more detail in [3].

Figure 3. Orion enables astronauts to explore

beyond Low Earth Orbit.

Orion Parameter Performance

Total spacecraft ΔV available

1,340 m/s

Crew size 4 Pressurized volume 20 m3 Habitable volume 8.9 m3 Main engine thrust 27 kN Auxiliary engine thrust 8 x 0.5 kN Electrical power 11.0 kW, 120 Vdc On-orbit mass 25.8 tons Usable propellant mass 8.6 tons Typical reentry velocity 11.05 km/s Crew systems Galley, toilet, exercise

equipment

Table 2: The Orion spacecraft is the only vehicle designed to take astronauts into deep space.

Orion is a critical component in making the DSTH safe and reliable for human occupancy. To minimize the complexity and cost of the DSTH, Orion systems such as solar arrays, communications systems, carbon dioxide scrubbers, and attitude control systems are used to add redundancy to the other elements while astronauts are present (see Table 3).

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During uncrewed periods the Habitat Support Vehicle controls the DSTH, employing

adequate levels of redundancy for robotic operations.

Function DSTH Orion

Life Support Trace contaminant control and pressure control during habitat crewed missions

O2 and N2 commodity supply for 60 days

Peak humidity removal during enhanced exercise countermeasures

Ventilation and air filtration

Fire detection and suppression

CO2 and humidity removal during crewed periods

Ventilation and air filtration

Fire detection, suppression, and recovery

Human waste management

Trace contaminant control, pressure control, O2 and N2 supply during transit periods

Power Primary power source in untended mode

Orion power surplus supports outpost when occupied

EVA Provides full EVA capability when EVA module is added to the DSTH

Provides contingency EVA capability

Rendezvous and Docking

Passive docking target Relative navigation capability and active docking vehicle

Crew Systems Exercise equipment for long duration missions

4 sleep stations

Contains galley, toilet, and additional privacy quarters

Communications

High bandwidth communication to lunar surface and to Earth

Medium bandwidth communication to Earth

Radiation Protection

Some shielding provided through sleep shelters and general positioning of supplies

Built-in solar storm shelter with on-board real-time radiation monitoring capability

Propulsion Attitude control and orbit maintenance during untended periods

GN&C, attitude control and orbit maintenance during crew-tended periods preserves fuel on habitat

Thermal Control

Passive thermal control during both crewed and untended periods

Active thermal control during crew-tended periods with inter-module ventilation and habitat passive thermal control

Table 3: Orion can provide supporting functions which reduce the cost and complexity of a cislunar habitat.

3.2 Habitat Module The initial elements to arrive in cislunar space are the Habitat Module (Figure 4) and Habitat Support Vehicle (Figure 5). They are launched together into LEO by a dedicated commercial launch vehicle and then spiral out to an EM-L2

Halo orbit using the Habitat Support Vehicle’s Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). The integrated Habitat Support Vehicle/Habitat Module form the initial configuration of the DSTH. The Habitat Module provides the crew of Orion with additional living space for the initial set of

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Proving Ground missions. It supports a crew of 4 astronauts for mission durations up to 60 days. There are four collapsible sleeping stations with integrated radiation protection which also provide personal space, critical for crew health during long duration missions. There are volumes for the crew to congregate to plan activities or relax. The exercise equipment in the habitat expands upon the equipment contained within Orion to allow for a wider variety of exercises helping keep the crew fit and healthy. To maximize the habitable volume for the crew, the Habitat Module features a hybrid pallet-based system with accommodations for traditional rack-based interfaces derived from ISS. In addition to enhancing the crew accommodations, the Habitat Module has several reconfigurable work areas and features that can be changed between missions to meet mission specific needs. The habitat has science stations that can be reconfigured to meet the need of each mission. It also features advanced in-space manufacturing capabilities that allows new equipment to be made from obsolete equipment using the additive manufacturing system and recycler.

Figure 4. The Habitat Module provides additional

volume for the crew, enabling long duration missions.

3.3 Habitat Support Vehicle The Habitat Support Vehicle provides the Habitat Module with all of the services required to safely operate in cislunar space for Phase 1 missions. It provides the primary source of power during crewed and uncrewed periods through the use of solar arrays. The Habitat Support Vehicle also provides breathable gases (oxygen and nitrogen) to the DSTH throughout the Phase 1 missions and has the capability to have its gases recharged by visiting logistics vehicles. It is the propulsive stage that delivers the DSTH to cislunar space, provides station keeping, and also allows the DSTH to move between various cislunar orbits such as Earth-Moon libration point orbits and Distant Retrograde Orbits (DRO). The Habitat Support Vehicle is designed to operate autonomously for long periods of time when astronauts are not present and to allow Orion to control the DSTH when astronauts are present.

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Figure 5. HABITAT SUPPORT VEHICLE: The

HABITAT SUPPORT VEHICLE provides the Habitat Module with all of the services required to safely

operate in cislunar space for Phase 1 missions.

3.4 EVA Module

The EVA Module allows the crew to exit the DSTH to collect samples from an asteroid during the Asteroid Redirect Crew Mission (see description below), service vehicles or other objects that can visit or be visited by the DSTH. The EVA Module can also serve as a means to test future EVA equipment to be used at Mars in the relative safety of Earth’s neighborhood. Including an EVA Module in the PG architecture satisfies many key objectives needed prior to getting to Mars. The EVA Module consists of an equipment bay for storage and maintenance of space suits and an airlock that allows astronauts to access the outside of the DSTH without depressurizing the entire habitat (Figure 6). The equipment bay is a pressure vessel with two International Docking System Standard compliant axial docking ports. It stores EVA maintenance equipment, tools and suits, and adds to crew living quarters. The airlock is used for depressurization/repressurization allowing for crew ingress/egress during EVAs. To minimize mass and provide efficient launch packaging, the EVA Module uses an inflatable airlock that is deployed after launch. The EVA Module may be pre-configured to provide the ability to test

advanced suit port technology for Mars surface missions.

Figure 6. EVA Module: The EVA Module allows

the crew to collect samples from asteroids, service vehicles or other objects that can visit or

be visited by the DSTH.

3.5 Cargo and Logistics Pod

Each launch of an Orion on a Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle can support the co-manifesting of an additional payload. This allows for launching a minimum of about 3,000 kg of pressurized cargo to the DSTH to support the mission. A commercial or internationally-provided cargo pod (Figure 7), with a similar structural shell to the Habitat Module, is the co-manifest payload for most Orion flights. The pod is a simple logistics module that relies on Orion to carry it to the DSTH (through a process called a transposition maneuver, similar to the way the Apollo command module extracted the Lunar Module from the Saturn V upper stage). This means the pod does not require its own power and propulsion. The pod also provides additional pressurized volume when docked (about 50 m3), as well as a means of trash disposal.

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Figure 7. The Cargo and Logistics Pod carries

provisions and equipment

Mission Set

The Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion will open crewed access to cislunar space in the early 2020s. The SLS can deliver the Orion vehicle and a co-manifested cargo vehicle to a lunar transfer orbit, and Orion performs the maneuvers to place itself and the co-manifested cargo in the desired destination orbit near the Moon. The Proving Ground missions progressively increase capability and duration to evolve human exploration capabilities with the objective of being ready to leave the Earth-Moon system. The Proving Ground Objectives are grouped into three general categories: transportation, working in space, and staying healthy. As the missions progress, additional equipment and modules will be integrated into the DSTH to allow the crews to pursue more ambitious objectives. By the end of the test campaign the crew will be ready to journey to the vicinity of Mars. As the Proving Ground Objectives are being accomplished, the crew will also perform valuable science missions, so each mission’s multiple concurrent objectives maximize the value of each mission. The mission architecture is depicted in Figure 12.

Phase 1 Cislunar Exploration Missions (EM-1 through EM-6)

The Phase I missions accomplish many of the proving ground objectives while exploring cis-lunar space. Astronauts will complete one mission per year, lasting 30-60 days. Below is a description of each Phase 1 mission.

EM-1 will be the first flight of the combined SLS/Orion vehicle stack. The uncrewed test will place the Orion spacecraft in a Distant Retrograde Orbit for about 25 days before returning to Earth. The mission will build upon the EFT-1 test flight launched in 2014 [4] to check out various systems and demonstrate the heat shield at lunar return velocity prior to the first launch of astronauts in Orion during EM-2.

Element Delivery Mission (EDM) - 1 delivers the Habitat Module and the Habitat Support Vehicle to LEO. The Habitat Support Vehicle will use its high power SEP propulsion systems to slowly spiral out from LEO to the destination cislunar orbit beyond the lunar farside in time for astronauts to visit on the next flight (Figure 8). By doing so it will demonstrate the ability to move massive payloads out of Earth’s gravity well, a key capability for a human journey to Mars.

EM-2 will be the first flight of astronauts on Orion. They will fly Orion to the DSTH located in a cislunar orbit over the lunar far side. EM-2 will be the first flight of the upgraded SLS Block 1B, allowing it and subsequent flights to co-manifest a cargo module that will provide the crew with extra supplies which allow the crew to stay 30 days at the habitat. Counting transit time in Orion between Earth and the Moon, the total mission duration is 45-50 days, during which the four-person crew will spend almost as many crew-days in deep space as the entire Apollo program did. The astronauts will spend much of their time outfitting the DSTH with additional equipment brought by the cargo

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pod, potentially including an externally mounted robotic arm that can be used to reposition later elements as they arrive. On the first crew stay at the DSTH, simple exploration experiments can begin, such as measuring how quickly food and medications break down in the radiation environment, and how populations of microbes evolve on a deep space habitat that is occupied intermittently – an issue important for planetary protection at Mars.

Figure 8. On EDM-1, the habitat module and

habitat support vehicle are delivered to LEO and begin a 2-year journey to an L2 halo orbit near

the Moon using electric propulsion.

EM-3 enhances the communications capabilities of the DSTH with the addition of a laser communications terminal. The advanced communications capability allows astronauts to operate lunar rovers on the far side of the Moon in near real time. The L2 Halo orbit is selected as the initial location for the DSTH because from this orbit the spacecraft can provide continuous communications coverage to the far side of the Moon, either for direct astronaut control or for relay to Earth.[ 5 ] Recent decadal surveys in planetary science and astrophysics have identified the farside of the Moon as a priority for understanding the impact history of the inner solar system, and for probing the early Universe with a radio

telescope in the farside quiet zone.[ 6 , 7 ]A communications relay to the farside is an enabling capability to begin to address these science priorities. During most of the year the DSTH would serve as a relay to operators on Earth. When the DSTH is occupied, astronauts may directly control lunar rovers as practice for similar operations from Mars orbit [8]. Small robotic lunar landers, rovers, and surface experiments would be launched separately from the astronauts and may be provided by international partners or commercial entities.

EM-4 will carry advanced life support equipment including a water recycling system that will reduce the amount of water that needs to be flown from Earth. This makes it possible for astronauts to begin to stay longer durations at the DSTH.

EM-5 is a science opportunity for astronauts to operate sample collection rovers on the lunar surface in near real time from the DSTH. The crew can guide rovers to collect samples from multiple locations and place them into a canister on an ascent vehicle, which will launch and delivered the samples to the DSTH for return to Earth. Variations on the human-assisted sample return concept have been studied by JPL9 and by ESA/LPI10 in sufficient detail to identify landing sites and even individual boulders to sample.

EM-6 adds an airlock to the DSTH to support the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) (Figure 9, Figure 10). The EVA module enables astronauts to perform multiple EVAs on a subsequent mission to explore and experiment with a boulder retrieved from an asteroid by a robotic spacecraft. The airlock will also be used to test advanced planetary EVA capabilities such as new space suits in preparation for future missions to Mars.

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EDM-2 is a robotic flight that delivers an advanced habitat and habitat support vehicle to the DRO location of the DSTH. These new elements are classified as advanced because they are an evolution of the earlier Phase 1 elements, incorporating all of the lessons learned from previous missions. The advanced habitat will contain a Mars-class regenerative life support system and incorporate appropriate radiation shielding for months-long deep space missions for example. The advanced habitat support vehicle will incorporate higher power generation and a deep space propulsion system capable of bringing astronauts on long transit missions. The addition of these elements will allow for longer duration missions and for the Orion DSTH system to leave the Earth-Moon system on 120-day and longer shakedown missions in preparation for missions to Mars orbit.

Figure 9. The DSTH, Orion, and all Phase 1

elements.

Figure 10. On EM-6, astronauts use the DSTH to

explore the asteroid boulder brought back to cislunar space by the Asteroid Redirect Robotic

Vehicle.

Phase 2 Deep Space Shakedown Missions (EM-7 though EM-9) With the Phase 1 objectives complete, astronauts will be ready to push further into space, on longer missions. The primary focus of the Phase 2 missions is to incorporate all of the lessons learned from Phase 1 and begin to simulate longer missions with complexity similar to a Mars transit. EM-7 is the first crewed mission to the expanded DSTH. All of the advanced elements have arrived and astronauts will spend 120 days onboard, checking out systems and proving the long duration reliability of the life support system. EM-7 will address critical science objectives that will help us understand when and how the first galaxies came into existence. We can best observe the epoch between the end of the Big Bang and the ignition of the first stars nearly a billion years later in radio waves produced or absorbed by neutral hydrogen at a 21-cm wavelength. However, this ancient signal has been deeply redshifted to very low frequencies below 100 MHz. Faint signals at these frequencies can only be observed on the far side of the Moon, where they are shielded from terrestrial radio noise created by artificial sources and the

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Earth’s ionosphere. Astronauts will tele-operate a rover to unroll a radio telescope consisting of receivers imprinted on polyimide film over hundreds of meters on the lunar surface [11].

EM-8 is the second Phase 2 mission where astronauts will spend 210 days on a low energy transfer from a DRO back to an EM-L2 Halo orbit. A conventional transfer between these two orbits would normally take a matter of days, but would require a substantial use of propellant. A low energy transfer is possible between the two orbits. This transfer requires only a delta-v of about 40 m/sec and takes nearly 120 days to accomplish. With crew on board, this mission will be the furthest from Earth astronauts have ever traveled, nearly 4 times further than the previous Phase 1 missions. Astronauts will now have to truly operate under Mars transit like conditions. During the 120 days in transit, few abort opportunities exist, requiring the crew to operate more autonomously. EM-9 is the culmination of the proving ground campaign. It is the final shakedown mission that will prove out all remaining flight test objectives and once completed, astronauts will be ready for a round trip to Mars (Figure 11). This mission is a year-long mission to visit a near Earth asteroid in its native orbit. It will take a crew of four nearly 30,000,000 km from Earth where they will experience round trip

light time delays (communications) of up to 200 seconds. Asteroid SG344 is a potential asteroid for this mission. It is roughly 20-100 m in diameter and the transfer to it will take 131 days. Once there, astronauts will spend 90 days exploring and studying the object. Figure 11 is an illustration of the asteroid visit. Unlike the Asteroid Redirect Mission where only a small sample of an asteroid is returned, astronauts will have access to an entire asteroid, allowing them to take multiple samples of heterogeneous locations. The crew will also practice excursions to and working on low gravity bodies. These lessons learned can be applied to a mission to the moons of Mars [12]. EM-9 will require astronauts to use all of the deep space operations, technology, and protocols developed during Phase 1 and 2 in an environment analogous to a Mars transit.

Figure 11. A year-long mission to an asteroid in

its native orbit, called the shakedown cruise, allow astronauts to test Mars class systems and

operations in a simulated Mars transit.

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Figure 12. The Lockheed Martin proving ground architecture builds upon increasingly more

challenging missions, meets NASA’s flight test objectives for Mars missions, and addresses key science goals.

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Conclusions To prepare for a human mission to Mars, NASA has defined a set of flight test objectives to complete in the next Proving Ground phase of human space exploration. These objectives address the different challenges of the deep space environment, including development of required technologies, the ability of humans to work in space, and the limits of human performance. The objectives are areas that must be understood and proven before venturing to Mars. The ideal location for a Mars proving ground is the space in the vicinity of Earth’s moon, cislunar space. It provides many of the hazards found in deep space and near Mars, while still being days, not months, from the safety of Earth.

Orion and SLS will enable the exploration of cislunar space, deep space, and Mars. Along with Orion and SLS, the elements of the Lockheed Martin Deep Space Transit Habitat allow NASA to meet the flight test objectives, and are prototype Mars mission systems. The proposed set of proving ground missions start with simple, shorter duration objectives and then expand the envelope in duration and complexity as the missions proceed. The Proving Ground will demonstrate living and working in deep space, completing the knowledge required to design and execute a human mission to Mars.

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