2020 has brought us COVID-19 and a fractious presidential election. As a result, many people may be surprised to learn that exploration of the Moon and Mars is still very much on NASA’s radar.
Recently, NASA announced that the Moon has water everywhere, not just in craters. At the time of the Apollo missions in the 1970s, scientists thought the Moon was barren, without water.
Finding out more about water on the Moon and many other scientific phenomenon—and developing the technology behind that science -- will be a priority for upcoming Artemis missions. The basic goal of Artimis is to expand human presence beyond Earth, but that phrase hardly encompasses all the piece parts involved.
“The science we get to do is incredible,” said Dr. Kathleen Gallagher Boggs, NASA’s capability integration strategy lead, in an interview with Fierce Electronics. “My job is to look at what we can do now and what we need to do to be able to do and to understand the gap between those things.” Check out the entire video:
Boggs said NASA is filled with scientists and engineers, so there’s obviously a great focus on technology. “But I actually like to step back and focus on the overall capability because I want to describe what the problem is, rather than focusing on the solution because that stifles innovation,” she said.
The Artemis missions are “technically on track” so far to get the first woman and the next man on the surface of the Moon in 2024, Boggs said. (Artemis was the Greek goddess of the Moon in mythology and she was twin sister to Apollo. Appropriately, the Apollo space capsule looks similar to the Artemis space capsule that will carry humans.)
The challenge will be maintaining the budget and the schedule, and NASA has historically enjoyed the support of both Republicans and Democrats, she added. NASA issued an online update on the Artemis plan in September.
There will be multiple phases before the humans arrive again on the Moon, including testing out the big Space Launch System rocket and launching Gateway, a spaceship that will orbit the Moon and where astronauts will be begin their landings on the surface on the lunar South Pole. A base camp will be set up there to serve beyond 2024 and help set the stage for eventual missions to Mars.
NASA will also use commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) to ferry materials for science experiments and other gear.
One concept envisioned: Mars missions could last three years, so crews could use 3D printers upgraded to produce needed electronics.
Boggs realizes that not everybody is thrilled about spending $20 billion to $30 billion on deep space exploration when a pandemic is raging on Earth and global warming is a longer-term threat.
“Exploration is written into our DNA. We strive to know what’s out there,” she said. “Ultimately, an investment in deep space exploration is an investment in science. I don’t think it’s an either/or. I think you get both. Recycling water on the space station is directly applicable to Earth. I understand that Covid relief is important, too, but we get great medical research out of this as well.”
RELATED: NASA Mars rover Perseverance launches on time Thursday to find evidence of life on Red Planet
Boggs participated in an online fireside chat about Artemis at 11 a.m. ET Monday,, Nov. 16, to kick off Sensors Innovation Week Fall. To view any of the sessions, registration is free and can be secured online.