Alternatives To The Moon

Most space planners see the next goal for manned spaceflight as either the Moon or Mars. NASA plans a lunar base to test technology and strategy for a push to Mars. The Augustine committee advising President Obama on the near future of NASA's manned spaceflight program, however, suggests other destinations in its final report.

Instead of going to those big worlds immediately, the committee suggests visiting small worlds. One option would send a crew to an asteroid-- a true deep space mission that could produce useful science while stretching our flight capability. Another of the committee's options would send astronauts to a Martian moon, Phobos or Deimos. Many would no doubt argue that sending people all the way to Mars and not land on the planet makes little sense. Landing and operating on Mars, however, would substantially increase the cost, complexity, and danger of such a program. On the other hand, either tiny moon would be a good platform for a base. As they are likely captured asteroids, studying one would increase our knowledge of those bodies. A base could also be a gateway to Mars. A fleet of rovers controlled by astronauts on Deimos, for example, could cover more ground and do more science than two rovers controlled from Earth. Such an approach could really open the door to human expeditions.

That said, an international consensus for an international program to establish a lunar base seems to be building. With partners footing part of the bill, NASA would be the natural choice as lead agency for such an effort. That would confirm U. S. leadership in space well into the century. So, what to do? Doing both would expand the technology base, support science, encourage students to work hard, and lay the foundation for a much bigger human economy.