Mars Surface Exploration Caching from an Orbiting Logistics Depot

摘要

EXPLORATION missions on Earth have used the principle ofncaching for centuries. Caching involves prepositioning discretenquantities of supplies at specific locations along a route in order tonlighten the burden or extend the range of an exploring party.nHistorical missions that made use of caching on Earth are the Lewisnand Clark expedition in 1803–1806 [1] and the ill-fated ImperialnTrans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 [2]. Caching may play annimportant role in the future of manned planetary exploration as well.nWithout it, exploration sorties are inherently limited to a specificndistance from a base or landing location given by the type ofntransportation vehicles used, the size of the crew, the mix andnquantity of consumables, operational rules, and the nature of thenterrain. For manned lunar missions, for example, this distance hasnbeen estimated at 3 km for exploration on foot, 5–15 km withnunpressurized rovers, and up to 30 kmwith pressurized rovers [3]. Innpart, exploration range is determined by the quantity of consumablesnthat can be carried along, limiting the amount of useful explorationnthat can be done at distances greater than 30 kmfromthe landing sitenor base. Similar issues exist for manned Mars exploration.