NASA/Spacelink File Name:6_11_10_3.TXT THE SPACE EXPLORATION INITIATIVE * The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) establishes the long-term goal of the civil space program, in reaching out from Earth, to be the return to the Moon, this time to stay, and the human exploration of Mars. In stating this goal, SEI makes explicit what has long been implicit; it builds on our rich heritage of exploring Earth and on 30 years of exploring the solar system with robotic and human missions. * The Space Exploration Initiative will both demonstrate and help enable U.S. leadership in the world community of the 21st century P leadership in vision, in discovery and knowledge, in science and technology, and in education. * SEI's outward focus on discovery and exploration complements the inward focus of Mission to Planet Earth. One looks inward to understand environmental changes; the other reaches outward to understand neighboring planets and what they can tell us about Earth. In reaching out, we may also develop technologies and discover resources which will help us deal with these changes. * SEI provides the space program with a long-sought strategic horizon needed to define, focus, and integrate many current and future activities. As such it establishes a framework for coherent investment and effective use of limited resources, and provides a yardstick against which progress can be measured. * By virtue of its breadth, SEI is not a "program" in the traditional sense, rather it is an integrated set of research, technology, and science activities and, ultimately, robotic and human missions which have been shaped and phased to the strategic objective of exploration. By virtue of its duration, SEI activities will be undertaken incrementally. The activities of each phase produce results which support the decision as to whether the next phase should be undertaken and, if so, how. * SEI activities over the next years will not develop massive hardware systems, but rather develop the knowledge, experience, and cost estimate base that will ultimately be used to decide how best to proceed. These activities, many of which exist in some form today, are preparatory in nature and include life science research, technology development, solar system data gathering, science opportunity definition, and mission studies which shape and integrate the other activities. Preparatory activities, in and of themselves, will produce significant benefits for a modest investment. * Preparatory activities will support the exploration architecture options and associated technology priorities defined by the Synthesis Group. BACKGROUND * The President first enunciated the goals of returning to the Moon to stay and the human exploration of Mars in a speech on July 20, 1989, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first Apollo lunar landing. Specific timetables for meeting these goals will be established after preparatory activity results are available, an exploration architecture approach has been selected, and cost estimates have been generated. * Early in 1990 the White House issued a policy directive that identified the Space Exploration Initiative as the means of meeting these goals and outlined the approach to be taken on SEI. - The near-term focus will be on technology development in parallel with mission and system studies. - Selection of a baseline architecture or approach to exploration will occur after several years of studying two or more options. - SEI will include robotic science missions as well as human missions. - NASA will be the principal implementing agency for SEI while the Departments of Energy and Defense will have major roles in technology development and concept definition. * SEI explicitly incorporates the human exploration of the Moon and Mars, in response to the National Space Policy's goal of expanding human presence and activity beyond Earth orbit into the solar system. In pursuing this goal, SEI planning recognizes the integral relationship between human and robotic missions. * The Report of the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program (the Augustine Report) reaffirmed the human exploration of Mars as the long-term goal for the nation's civilian space program. * The FY 1991 Congressional Appropriations Conference Report states that: It is implicit in the conduct of the Nation's civil space program that such human exploration of our solar system is inevitable. Although initiation of a focused program is not possible at this time ˇdue to severe budget constraints¸, the conferees recognize that relevant research and technology development activities should be continued by NASA and that preliminary conceptualdesign studies will be considered if appropriate resources are identified or made available. * The White House has announced that the United States will seek an exploratory dialogue with Europe, Canada, Japan, the Soviet Union and other nations to address conceptual possibilities for international cooperation on SEI. BENEFITS OF EXPLORATION * The Space Exploration Initiative will both demonstrate and help enable U.S. leadership in the world community of the 21st century. That leadership can be manifested in the nation's role in the world community, the cutting edge of our knowledge and technologies, the strength of our educational system, and the quality of life for our citizens. Opportunities for international cooperation on the Space Exploration Initiative will provide a new forum for U.S. leadership in focusing global energies on a challenging, peaceful endeavor. * There have always been explorers. They have accepted the risks and risen to the challenges of the frontier and have reaped many rewards, some of which they never anticipated. Space, an infinite source of challenges, offers tremendous potential for growth and progress and provides unique opportunities for discovery about our solar system, our own planet, and the origin and nature of life itself. * The breadth of technical challenges presented by SEI over decades will contribute to strengthening our nation's technical capabilities. The development of new technologies for SEI will support technologies that have been identified by the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense as critical or emerging. * Learning how to provide a healthy and efficient habitat for crews on long-duration and remote space missions will contribute to our ability to deal with environmental and health problems on Earth. Technologies will be developed which maximize recycling and the re-use of waste. Efficient food production techniques will be required, as will innovative and highly automated approaches to health care and pollutant monitoring and control. * Another way our investment in SEI will pay off is by contributing to national education goals. The excitement and mystery of exploring the Moon and Mars will capture students' interest in science, math, and technology. SEI can help channel natural curiosity into higher academic achievement and eventually career choices in science, engineering, medicine and technology. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES * At the request of the Vice President, a nationwide Outreach Program solicited innovative ideas and technologies for SEI from universities, U.S. industry, professional societies, other federal agencies, and the general public. Over 2000 ideas were received and evaluated by either the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics or the RAND Corporation and forwarded to the Synthesis Group. The Synthesis Group was tasked to assess and distill these ideas and provide to the NASA Administrator and the National Space Council several exploration architecture or approach options, the corresponding technology priorities, and a list of candidate near-term accomplishments. * An integrated SEI plan has been prepared, tying together the many activities associated with a return to the Moon and a journey to Mars. This effort created a deeper understanding of the interrelationships of various SEI preparatory activities and aided in the development of an integrated FY 1992 SEI budget request. The plan guides work on preparatory research, technology, and study activities and provides a foundation for incorporating the recommendations of the Synthesis Group. * Both the Space Station Freedom (SSF) and the proposed New Launch System (NLS) are very important contributors to SEI. The SSF will serve as a facility to support life science research and technology experiments. It may, depending on the exploration architecture, also serve as an on-orbit assembly and processing facility for spacecraft. An evolved version of the NLS will be the launch vehicle supporting lunar and Mars missions. As part of the SEI integrated plan, requirements have been developed to support the SSF rescoping activity and NLS definition efforts under way by DOD and NASA. * NASA is working with the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other agencies on SEI. Each agency has focused elements of its ongoing program to address SEI needs. NSF and NASA have agreed to cooperate on Antarctic activities, including conduct of scientific experiments having lunar and Mars implications. DOE, DOD, and NASA have joint programs for the development of nuclear power and propulsion systems. * In the private sector, many companies have formed teams to examine long-term technology needs and have applied several million dollars of Independent Research and Development (IR&D) funds to investigate promising technologies. * NASA will continue to develop special programs that maximize SEI's potential contributions to broader national goals such as economic strength and educational excellence. * The Augustine Committee's recommendation to consolidate SEI activities within NASA under a single Associate Administrator for Exploration has been accepted by the NASA Administrator. The new organization should be in place in the summer of 1991. FY 1992 BUDGET * Many ongoing activities in the areas of technology, life science research, and space science support SEI objectives. The FY 1992 budget request for exploration augments certain of these critical activities and fills voids to assure a coherent and integrated effort. * The FY 1992 budget request will allow modest progress on preparatory activities within an integrated SEI framework. NASA will conduct mission studies for the architectures recommended by the Synthesis Group while developing selected critical technologies and performing life sciences research to better understand and minimize the risks associated with long-duration human missions. Funds are also requested in the budgets of DOD and DOE to continue work on space nuclear power and propulsion research and other applicable activities. NASA Budget FY1992 Request ($M) Mission Studies 15 Exploration Technology SP-100 20 Nuclear Propulsion 7 Human support systems 16 Space-based engines 9 Life Science Research LifeSat 15 Life science research 10 Radiation research 2 Total 94 * At about 0.7% of the NASA budget, this request is a prudent investment that will enable us to achieve a better understanding of the requirements, challenges, cost, and rewards associated with exploration of the solar system, and to begin preparing options for consideration by the President and Congress.