Space agencies are at a critical juncture as international federations embark on ambitious efforts such as retrieving models Tuesday And sending human missions to the moon, according to a recent panel discussion.
NASA President Jim Bridenstein and European Space Agency Director General John Warner starred in an online group International Space Congress Oct. 14 also includes a detailed discussion of where the two companies will go next.
This debate is taking place at an important moment on both sides of the Atlantic. NASA is with Congress on budget discussions for the 2021 fiscal year and is awaiting the outcome of next month’s US presidential election, while trying to achieve the Trump administration’s goal of landing people on the moon by 2024. Artemis Project. Meanwhile, the ESA is dealing with the gradual exit of the UK under Brexit and the corona virus outbreak affecting countries around the world (including the US).
Related: NASA makes the first test of its new moonwalking space suite
On the same day that the group was present, NASA released the news about the alliance of signing agencies in the Artemis project and the set of principals drawn up to manage cooperation in space exploration in general.
A number of agencies have made significant contributions to the project, including three service modules for the moon-landing effort, in addition to ESA’s commitment to Airbus last year. Artemis’ mission has been building space agency collaboration for decades at the International Space Station, Bridenstein said during the mission.
“This collaboration is critically important,” Bridenstein said of NASA’s Artemis working with ISA. “Because of what we did International Space Station“He added,” We have the largest, most collaborative, most inclusive, and most diverse human research program in history with the Artemis project. ”
Collaboration for robots
Meanwhile, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency and ESA are planning A robotic lunar mission called Luna-27 in 2021, Which is looking for water ice beneath the moon’s south pole. Europe’s leading scientific contribution will be a miniature laboratory called PROSPECT (Resource Tracking Package and Research, Business Exploitation and Contextual Expectation for Transport).
The PROSPECT has a robotic drill and several instruments that can explore the moon’s regolith or underground. Equipment can also analyze lunar samples at the site, which has previously been done on Mars – for example, at NASA Curious work.
An integral part of PROSPECT will be its capabilities to send data back to Earth. Accompanying satellites – provided by Airbus Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. – will send information back to Earth. Nellie Ford, business tax manager at Surrey Research, told the panel that similar systems could be used to develop studies on the moon for future long-distance travel.
Partnership doesn’t just happen on the moon. NASA and ESA are in the early stages of planning a model return mission from Mars to build NASA’s missions Diligence Rover, The Landing in February 2021, and the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Mission Landing in 2023 Rosalind Franklin Rover. Both rovers are designed to search for signs of habitat, focusing on tasks such as the nature of organic molecules. Diligence will also hold some promising key models for future work on returning to Earth later in the decade.
“Resource mobilization [between agencies] Can only be by raising money; It’s an opportunity to work together, it’s a good opportunity, “Warner said.” But the return mission to Mars is more than that. “
Current Sample return plan Warner said NASA is calling for a spacecraft to carry samples into orbit around Mars, where it will acquire a European spacecraft and bring precious cargo back to Earth.
“One can see [exploration] It’s not just about mobilizing resources, it’s about mobilizing skills and abilities, “he added.” This is really true and the best idea to show it [agency] Collaboration is an implementer. Competition is a driver, yes, but collaboration, which is the focus of the Mars model-return mission. “
Collaboration with companies
Representatives from Airbus (who works at Artemis), Thales Alinia (Exomars) and Leonardo (PROSPECT) also attended to talk about how their business ventures will help bring space research forward in the 2030s and beyond.
“Young professionals have an opportunity to truly design and build the future by doing something like robotization, which is supported by the use of resource resources, or the intelligent use of artificial intelligence and data,” said Eleonora Geminiani, a researcher at the team Thales Alenia in Italy who works on new endeavors.
“Space exploration is a pillar in the development and maintenance of industrial excellence,” Geminiani said. “It does so in the first place by challenging and inspiring technological innovations, and by bringing together the entire space ecosystem, from science and education, to small and medium enterprises, to large computer coordinators and organizations. We believe that we alone cannot sustain large-scale human presence in space. It takes effort. “
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