Human Mars Exploration Research Objectives

Myron Fendall Pamela Denkins, Ph.D.

Houston Space Professional Chapter
SpaceSpecial Interest Group
National Society of Black Enginees National Society of Black Engineers
Woodbridge, VAUSA
Houston, TX, USA
mfendall@nsbe-space.org pdenkins@nsbe-hsp.org
stephen Fsher, M.D., MPH Hakeem Oluseyi, PhD,.
Space Speclal Interest Group Space Special Interest Group
National Society of Black Engineers National Society of Black Engineers
Camp Pendeton, CA, USA Melbourne, FL, USA
sfisher@nsbe-space.org holuseyi@nsbe-space ory

Patrice Yarborough, Ph.D.

Houston Space Professional Chapter
National Socity of Black Engineers
Houston, TX, USA
pyarborough@nsbe-hsp.org
NSBE, a 501(0)3
nonprofit headquartered in Alexandria,
Abstractspace
Mars
exploration.
nas 1Ong This paper will compile VA NSBE coordinates the inputs a aerospace industry

research objectives rele vant to a Martian presence in an inan technical

experts tochall
propose innovative solutions to complex
enges facing the United States. This paper,
attempt to
create a coherent Jusincarion.0
to Mars. It
u in cordination with six other Working Group papers,
expeditions will organze
tnese
oD u collectively encompasses the
product or tne wong
balanced human spacetlight architecure uv Recommendations, results, and
inclusive of engineering Group's efforts.
Plauorm
or
research objectives concluslons m tmis paper do n0t eiect NASA PONcy or
research, pathfinding for commerclal operduons, au programmatic decisions.
SCientihc research domains. It mll then propose a
Martian campaign that allocates suni clent manpower,
these Significance and Interest in Mars
and
surtace stay time, equipment
to accomplish
objectives. Finally, it will demonstrate how such a Exploration
campaign 1s not an Apollo-reminis cent "tlag, footprints,
and forget about it venture One of the first credible proposals for human
Dut 1s sdu a ppa spaceflight to Mars was by
s was by German rocket scientist
rocKet scien
eevant, 1ong-term human endeavor on Mars, aeg o a
van Braun, whose original concept to the
including linkage of initial Mars
exploration of the planet and
to continued
exploration tinuedWernher
additional human de 1 s s a n a early 1950s. T13] There
dates
is general

exploration further into the solar system. agreement throughout the spaceflight community that
Mars 1s the most Ccompelling destinaion ror human
exploraion the solar
in
system.
Keywords: Mars, exploration, science, research, life,
NSBE Visions for Human Space Flight Working Group.
The
NASA Authorization Act of 2010 speafically
1 Introduction calls out the human exploration of Mars as a lng term
goal. [1] The House and Senate versions of the NASA
The Space Special Interest Group of the National Authorization Act of 2013 (neither of which actually
Society of Black Engineers has commissioneda Visions for became law), while deeply divided on several issues and

Human Space Flhght Working Group, to investigate supported only along partisan lines, both specifically
echnical
flight and chalenges
to identify surounding
an al ternaive NASA
path torhuman space called
ne arecuion
on of the surface of Mars as an
human
outgoal.
intended [2], explorati
[3]
or United States human space tlight. Research conducted
Dy Working group and
participants documented in this
paper represents volunteer labor executed on behalf of
Some, perhaps romantically, view Mars explaration
as a search for the meaning of life. [15] Whether life is
found on Mars or not, some view either the discovery of but are more efficient or effective with a lower leve of
any form of life on Mars, or the settlement of humans on gravity than that provided by Earth. Or they may be
Mars as a transformative evant in human existence. induced by some oher factor related to Mars.
However, none of this provides a defensible reason to go in
tne Tace or imited buagetary resources. Despite all or the
wording in NASA Authorization acts, there is no
Short-term Mars exploration is intended to search for
those areas of opportunity wherelby the human experience
matching appropriations funding from Congress. Further, can be enhanced by means or human activity on Mars.
while there are more than 200,000 people who have Once expeditions have 1dentified opportunities for
already submitted applications for a one-way i p to Mars development, a long tem human presence should begin to
(34), the commercial investors needed to back such a tnp leverage and utilize these opportunities
and technical expertise to conduct it remain in question.
2 Taryeted Areas for Mars Research
1.2 Specific Rationale for Continued Mars
It is not sufficiently descriptive to list "Mars" as a
Exploration beyond the First Human
destination. The NSBE Vísions
for Human Space Fgnt
Expedition Working Group has identthed a single location on the
and both of its
The purpose of the
Apollo program was atowas land a u lae, a erOStalilonary orbit,
moons as key destin ations, all of which are visited aurng
d O me ioon ana reuln nm sa rely to Earth. The
lau expEaldon to Mars.
uemendous scientific and results of that
technological y
endeavor were a side benefit, not the actual purpose.
This represents a significant deviation is implied
However, this oficial purpose
of the program's cancellati0n.
àrguabiy 1s ne are dus from many other Mars studies, which often take
an
ne pur pose o "either/or" approach. Some have
program was fulfilled in Apouo l . Tnere was uo 10 approach where an initial mission issuggested
merelya à pnasedA
flyby.
tem strategy, merely the intent to pertorm what was
enecavely a high tech stunt to impress the rest of the ay VIS a moon, and eventually there
are missions to the surface. Advocates d such
world.
architectures promote them as a way to reduce overhead.
It could be argued that it is
iTesponslDle to conau However, it 19 actualyin only
surface mission exists
delay a
d overhead.If
of the
a

any part architecture tnen

"technological stunts,given.presen-aa oO that overhead is by definition part of the
architecture. And
conditions. Thus, a Mars arcnitecture ndt aou s
in actuality it must also by definiti on either increase total
primarily on "being the
rirst nauon on ids overhead (if all objectives are
short-term obective could be cucized as no u e Deonumber
of surface days cannot be
te u retalned
possible use df the nation's resources.
transit flights to the
tus aaan9
for those
changea,
additionalthe surface) or it must reduce
architecture
A more Sustainable interest in Mars exploration 5 s tnat do nOt land on
includes
ncuaes the the desire to to find or or identify something that
1denaly 0uves ur total number & launches are held
Somenug
constant then the number of missions inciudng
surtdc
cannot be done on Earth, or that cannot be done landings as
are accordingly reduced).
efhciently on Earth. The classiC example 1s the long
sought-after promise of of
development new of
crystals
The common spacecraft architecture and modiñed
pharma ceuticals ab0ard à
spaCe stauou, we program management, systems engineering, ana riss
that microgravity will enable molecule
the
formations that
environment
cannot be obtained on Earth. The general y
mana
pocesses recOmmended Dy the NSBE
1mauons that
cannot be obtalned on Earl, uc ge Visions for Human Space Flight working oroup ae
premise is that there is a legitimate benefit that may result intended
the intended to reduce the overhead of human Mars
In
the growth of a
particular industry or perhaps the O wnee pldnetay landings can be achieved
creation or
of new industries, with the promise of
Creduon entirely
enuirely new nausues ala on all Mars-bound flights. It is worth noung und e sau
resulting economic growth. TniS ocour aily Mars Transfer Vehicle and the same Mars Surface Outpost
space program with thedevelopment
telecommunications satelites and these satellites have
are reused by all four Mars expedition crews.

completely reshaped life on Earth.

2.1 Recommended Surface Outpast Site
Mars provides
microgravity
a different
scenario from
environment and there 1s interest
the
n
Tne recommended surtace ourpost site tor the Mars
outpost is Ophir Chasma. A chasma is a deep, elongated,
Identifying processes or
mänuractunng or
proaucuon steep-sided depressi1on.Ophir i9 located near tne nonern
activities that are enabled by the Martian environnment. center of Valles Marineris. Named after the Mariner
This may be a function of MarS locanon 1n tne solar Mars orbiter, Valles Marin ens 1s the largest canyon sy'stem
sy'stem, or they may be things that do require some gravity,
on Mars. Located on the Martian equator, it 1s nearly as
wide as the United States, stretching a hfth of the
ircumference of Mars as shown in figure 1. [18] Ophir
Chasma is indicated by the red box superimposed on the
mage of Mars in figure 1.

Figure 2. Ophir Chasma

2.1.1 10 km Radius Immediate vicinity

The immediate vicinity of the
Mars outpos 1s the

region within EVA walk back distance the range a crew

member could theoretically walk back from a disabled
rover if rescue is not possible. This
region ls rougniy twIce
of the fa a
Figure 1. Valles Marineris the size Distict of Columia, leaving roam
signiticant amount of exploration. Tne walls and adjacent
The center of Ophir Chasma has latitude of 4 and canyon floors provide a wealth of geologic features of
longitude of 287.65 and it measures 314.71 km in nterest. ncuding slumpng along the canyon walls,
diameter. 138] This near-equatorial location will minimize with layered deposits that have emained unexplaimed
to orbit. It will alsoESplte aecaaes OT photogeologic exploration of Mars. [20]
e propelant required for launch
allow
the outpost to remain in constant line of sight
cOmmunicaion wn Spacecrart ln aerosauonary orDIt as
well as allow for anytime ascent or descent between such2.1.2 480 km Surface Rover Range from Outpost

A
Spacecrart and the outp0St. AS ShoWn in ngure 2, the wallsdual-rover
strategy will enable pressurized rover
Or Oprnasma are rela ively steep. and are rougnly excursions up to 480 km away rom the Mars outpost.
km tall. I9] The chasm itself extends to à depth of 28, 130] This enables one rover to rescue the crew of the
approximately 6 km. [18] There are two advantages of second rover in the event of a contingency and requiresa
these surface éatures. First, due to the depth there is a rover capability to traverse a 480 km distance in
small increase in atmospheric pressure. Because the apprOximately 20 hours. This expioration radius is a
average atmo0sphenc pressure on Mars is close to the triple regi0n measurng approximately 723,823 square
af

point or water 132]. Suggesing a possibiity or either

inding hquid water in the vicinity or
1lometers, rougniy equal to the land area Texas,
tavarableMaryland, Massachusetts, and the District or Columbia
environmental conditions for conducting liqud water combined. The terrain of phir Chasma includes layered
experiments. Second, the walls of the canyon may provide rock tormations, WInd etched rocks, and dune fields. [10]
crevices or caverns
large enough to assemble the outpost
surrounded or partially surrounded by canyn walls,
With respect to minerals., the Ophir Chasma contains iron
oxides and sulfates including kieserite and jarosite. [22]
thereby providing natural radiation shielding.
2.2 Martian Moons Executing this architecture will force the development of
new systems engineenng models [29] and overall
increased discipline with respect to both engineering and
2.2.1 Phobos
management processes that will permit the United States
Phobos has a surface area of roughly 1548 square to explore complex undertakings in countless domains on

kilometers [26], making it roughly half the size of Rhode Earth and beyond that are presently unafordable.
Island. [37|
Due the
to size of
small it will
Phobos not be
necessary to restrict explorati on to any paracular 1ocauOn 3.2 Surface Infrastructure Development
on the moon.

3.2.1 Structural Shelters

2.2.2 Deimos There are four possible paths to building human
Deimos is smaller than Phobos, with a surface area of snerers on Mars: depioy napiats rapnicated or plane
approximately 483 square kilometers [25]). approximately (arth. buld with component matenals transteed o
tne or Albuquerque, Like Phobos,
New Mexico. [36] planet, use planetary matenals to build shelters, or a

the size
entire surtace of Deimos can be surveyed during an
expedition if desired.
2.3 Mars Orbit
The recommended Mars orbit is an aerostationary
orbit above the Ophir Charisma. This wil focus most
orbital sensing data on one hemisphere of the planet, but
planet wide data can be obtained during inbound and
outbound spirals
3 Engineering Research
A key objective of engin eering research is to develop
the operational techniques that will be needed to grow the
human presence on Mars from small, pretabricated
outposts to larger, indigenous complexes capable of
accelerating the expansion or human exploraion or the
solar system
3.1 Demonstrate Cost-Effective Systems Engineering
Capabilities
It 1s to
dual
not possible send humans to Mars under the
canstra ints of the current federal fiscal climate and
modern acguisition strategies. l24) We are rapidly In addition to buildin g shelters, the surrounding
becoming a nation that cannot do anyrtning Decause terain must be properly shaped to provide access to ana
eveything19 too expensiVe. Even the military. which 1s between shelters, as well as to protect them from weather.
often viewed as having a luxunous budget, 1sfinding itself
unable to meet its goals. The Navy and Marnne Corps
anticipate having to cut 25 arerart from Fl4
acquisitions, the Air Force plans to eliminate rour to nve
F-35 acquisitions an d cut up to 25,000 alnen ana pto
50 aircraft, and the Amy plans to reduce 4-50 Stryker
vehicle acquisitions With adaia0nal
mpene
procurement plans. 4] The systems engineenng chall enge
of executing a Mars exploration strategy in the context of
parallel lunar and NEA exploration strategies [29] requires
radical, innovative chan ges in NASA acquisition strategies
on the order of the radical and transformative engineenng
development required for the Apollo program of the 1960s.
comDlnaion or the above. Bringing material from earth
has the advantage of Earth-based testing, but has the
disadvantage
these
of the mass and volume required to transport
matenals. Using Martian matenals reduces the
transporta tion cost to that required for the fabrication and
construction equipment, but does require the development
of Mars-based testing capabilities to venify that such
shelters are sare for human occupation.
Martian habitats will need to provide radiation
protection, thermal control, and structural rigidity, and
also breathable at
maintain atmospheres appropriate
pressure.This may be achieved through the sealing of
existing Martian caverns or caves, or may involve
fabrication of structures from regolith, iron, or other
materials. Research will involve exploration of existing
natural features on Phobos, Deimos, and the Martian
surface for use as shelters, Including the installati1On of
pressure bladders into existing structures a well as
methods or sealing natural striCTures to nold pressure.
Additona ese arch involves sheler fabrication on the
Martian surface from in-situ resources.
3.2.2 Grading and Landscaping
Research will include development of techniques for
Cutting and filling, as well as methods for transport of
excess waste, regolith, and rocks. This will nable the
development of walkways, bridges, roads, Dlast deriectors,
and dust barriers.
3.3 Renewable Energy
The initial power for a Mars outpost comes from the
Power and Themal Unit (PTU) 28] deployed with the
outpost. (lt is beyond the scope of this paper to define
whether the PTU uses solar, nuclear or other saurces d
energy, and is only referenced here to state that it is sized