Importance of ISS to Mars–Part I
Many people wonder what the International Space Station has to do with traveling to Mars, especially as most of the money is being focused on the ISS and its soon-to-be-retired fleet and the finishing of the ISS before then–la de da. The government really has no desire for human exploration to Mars, but focusing on science exploration and the Moon instead. Plans have changed, and the ISS is almost completed. Now what?
Granted, the budget has become much higher than anticipated of the original ISS plan. And recently, any company contract that goes over budget with NASA is either cancelled or changed. The only exception seems to be the ISS, with a lot of modification going on to its configuration. But to give credit where credit is due, NASA has stated that their objectives have remained the same, which is where Mars comes in. Without the ISS, trips to Mars or any other planet is out of the question. The following is taken from their 2001 International Space Station Management and Cost Evaluation Task Force, which obviously has changed since then–except for their objectives:
** To provide the means to sustain humans during extended space flight. This will require a primary research focus on discovering any adverse effects of long-term human presence in space.
**Perform “world class” scientific research that requires low gravity and is enhanced by astronaut interaction.
**Enhance international cooperation and U.S. leadership through international development and operations of ISS.
Overall, the International Space Program has maintained its commitment to a long-term plan for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS. But a failed in mission on the way to Mars or any planet beyond the safe limitations could mean death for those onboard, unless they were close enough to Earth to bail out. The plan under President Bush’s “space vision” envisioned a new role for the ISS was to use it as a safety net above and connected to Earth.
Any problems that have developed since the beginning construction of the ISS have been positive ones–meaning it is better they were confronted and solved while at the ISS than out in space at the expense of death and destruction.
President George W. Bush gave a 2.9% raise to the U.S. Space Agency, in its 3.1 trillion dollar budget for the 2009 fiscal year–with 17.61 billion dollars to NASA, as compared to the 2008 17.11 billion dollar budget, with a 4.1% inflation rate. In other words, it was cut in funding. The NASA budget includes a 2.1 billion-dollar ISS construction operation and a 3.0 billion-dollar operational fee for the three space shuttle fleet.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 5:51 am and is filed under Mission History, Mission Objectives, Technical Concerns, The Gear to Get There. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
