Conference – Day Three
Today’s session was on the human exploration of Phobos and Deimos and included my presentation the engineering challenges and unique opportunities associated with such an endeavour. I will put up a PDF of my presentation later if you are interested. My presentation was well received and provoked some good questions and discussion, particularly about whether robotic precursor missions would be required before sending humans or if we know enough already to safely operate on their surface. From an engineering stand point, my big concerns are with the long term effects of the moons’ regolith on mechanical systems such as spacesuits and the challenges associated with affixing oneself to the surface and getting around on the moons. Since the gravity on Phobos, as an example, is 0.001G and varies as a result of its irregular shape conducting spacewalks and the like will require some careful consideration. Given the extensive experience gained from the Mir, Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, in which spacewalks are conducted in near-zero G conditions, there is a legacy to build upon.
Other presentations during the day discussed the radiation environment in Mars orbit and the use of Phobos as a location for a cache of Martian material collected by sample return missions. Rob Landis from NASA Johnson Space Center gave a very interesting presentation about his study of a crewed mission to a Near Earth Object, such as an asteroid, using the crew exploration vehicle mission architecture as a prelude to human exploration of Phobos and Deimos. Following lunch was the poster session of which I have included some photos of below.
