Members of the U.S. Congress are considering a return to the moon to test new technologies to be employed in future manned missions to Mars in the 2030s.
These members – Democrats and Republicans alike – are nudging NASA back to the moon as a step toward Mars, effectively zeroing out funding for the asteroid mission and encouraging the space agency to plan a lunar landing. The lunar exploration will serve to test capabilities required for the Mars expedition, including habitation modules and landing and ascent vehicles.
NASA has been keen on adopting an asteroid-then-Mars plan for human spaceflight. For those on the other side, though, the moon is a more economical path: lunar miners could tap into ice found at the lunar poles to offer hydrogen and oxygen propellants as spacecraft fuel.
“There is no better proving ground than the moon for NASA to test the technologies and techniques needed to successfully meet the goal of sending humans to Mars by the mid 2030s,” Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, told Ars Technica, saying he is leading efforts in the House to ensure NASA’s partnerships will make “affordable missions” for exploring the moon possible.
Back in 2010, President Barack Obama and NASA proposed sending astronauts into deep space to visit an asteroid in its native surroundings. The Congress generally deemed it too expensive and challenging, its skepticism evident in limited funding reserved for the mission.
NASA emphasized the importance of the crewed Mars mission in answering the question of whether there is life beyond Earth. The Red Planet is considered a “rich destination” or scientific discovery as well as robotic and human exploration.
As it has come under greater scrutiny, the asteroid program has been pared down. Currently, the plan is to get a small boulder off an asteroid surface and return it to a place near the moon where astronauts can access it – a fulfillment of Obama’s asteroid goal.
NASA’s request was $66.7 million for the mission this year, but House legislation would deny it and insist on moon exploration instead. According to Ars, the House’s wish would likely be unchallenged in the Senate; the legislation, even if Obama vetoes it, would appear in the next Congress’ options.
A panel of experts before a House committee back in February urged NASA to come up with a solid plan for its manned Mars mission, warning that it is pressed for time given that a change of administration is happening.
NASA’s space technology program, however, has already faced a budget crunch early on. Its requested $826.7 million for next year, for instance, met an unfavorable response in the form of a Senate-approved spending bill last April of only $686.5 million.
The targeted Mars exploration faces problems beyond financing - NASA must be able to land huge payloads on the planet's surface. The Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, was a small payload of 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds), whereas human and cargo missions are expected to be far bigger and more substantial.
For now, some members of the House believe that the moon is the realistic interim step, a more viable approach to the ambitious exploration.
