Reducing Cost by Extending Crew Stay for Missions to the Moon and Mars

摘要

There are a large number of strategies for reducing overall mission cost for crevved missions. An overview of some of these approaches is considered. The specific focus of this paper is how cost fcould be reduced by extending crew stay on the Moon and Mars. By so doing, the transportation cost for rotating crew can be reduced while also reducing the risk of loss of crew. We propose the use of the Earth Return Option where biomedical criteria indicate whether crew would need to return at the upcoming Earth return window or if they can choose to extend their stay until the following window. This could be done by ensuring that they have sufficient supplies, maintaining reliable life support systems, protecting from radiation and the effects of micro and hypogravity, and if possible, selecting crew whose social status allows for extended stays. We identify water-bearing supplies as a convenient way of reducing radiation exposure while in transit to Mars and regolith piled on top of habitats while on the surface of the Moon or Mars. While there, we propose the use of a centrifuge within a shielded habitat for several hours a day. The authors found that we could successfully conduct a variety of sedentary activities while spinning at the rate that would provide 1 g on the Moon. Finally, we suggest that any crew on a mission exceeding two years or so would ideally not have dependent children or a spouse back on Earth. We believe that the ideal initial crew may be couples without dependent children. We conclude that, by utilizing the interventions that this paper suggests, crew stay can be extended resulting in an overall lower mission cost and risk.