The Future of Human Space Exploration

The Future of Human Space Exploration From Here to There: Human Space Flight People have a solid future in space, with regular flights to the International Space Station continuing to bring astronauts to low-Earth orbit for science experiments. But, the ISS isnt the only extent of our push to the new frontier. The next generation of explorers is already alive and preparing for journeys to the Moon and Mars. They could be our children and grandchildren, or even some of us reading stories online right now. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station in blue jumpsuits. NASA Companies and space agencies are testing new rockets, improved crew capsules, inflatable stations, and futuristic concepts for lunar bases, Mars habitats, and orbiting lunar stations. There are even plans for asteroid mining. It wont be long before the first super-heavy-lift rockets such as the next-generation Ariane (from ESA), SpaceXs Starship (Big Falcon Rocket), the Blue Origin rocket, and others will be blasting off to space. And, in the very near future, humans will be aboard, too.   Space Flight is in Our History Flights to low-Earth orbit and out to the Moon have been a reality since the early 1960s.  Human exploration of space actually began in 1961. Thats when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man  in  space. He was followed by other Soviet and U.S. space explorers who landed on the  Moon circled Earth in space stations and  labs and blasted off aboard shuttles and space capsules. Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly to space. alldayru.com Planetary exploration with robotic probes is ongoing. There are plans for an asteroid exploration, Moon colonization, and eventual Mars missions in the relatively near future. Yet, some people still ask, why explore space? What have we done so far? These are important questions and have very serious and practical answers. Explorers have been answering them throughout their careers as astronauts. Living and Working in Space The work of the men and women who have already been in space have helped establish the process of learning  how to live and there.  Humans have established a long-term presence in low-Earth orbit with the International Space Station, and U.S. astronauts spent time on the Moon in the late 1960s and early1970s. Plans for human habitation of Mars or the Moon are in the works, and some missions- such as the long-term assignments in space of such astronauts as Scott Kellys year in space- test astronauts to see how the human body reacts on long missions to other planets (such as Mars, where we already have robotic explorers) or spend lifetimes on the Moon.  In addition, with long-term explorations, its inevitable that people will start families in space or on another world. Very little is known about how successful that will be or what we may call new generations of space humans. Astronaut Sunita Williams exercising aboard the International Space Station. NASA Many mission scenarios for the future follow a familiar line:  establish a space station (or two), create science stations and colonies, and then after testing ourselves in near-Earth space, take the leap to Mars. Or an asteroid or two. Those plans are in the long-term; at best, the first Mars explorers most likely wont set foot there until the 2020s or 2030s. The Near-term Goals of Space Exploration   A number of countries around the world have plans for space exploration, among them China, India, the United States, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and the European Space Agency. More than 75 countries have agencies, but only a few have launch capability. NASA and the Russian Space Agency are partnering to bring astronauts to the International Space Station. Since the space shuttle fleet retired in 2011, Russian rockets have been blasting off with Americans (and astronauts of other nationalities) to the ISS. NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo program are working with companies such as Boeing, SpaceX, and United Launch Associates to come up with safe and cost-effective ways to deliver humans to space.  In addition, Sierra Nevada Corporation is proposing an advanced space plane called the Dream Chaser, and already has contracts for European use.   The current plan (in the second decade of the 21st century) is to use the Orion crew vehicle, which is very similar in design to the Apollo capsules (but with more-advanced systems), stacked atop a rocket, to bring astronauts to a number of different locations, including the ISS. The hope is to use this same design to take crews to near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. The system is still being built and tested, as are space launch systems (SLS) tests for the necessary booster rockets. Water recovery of the Orion crew capsule in testing. NASA   The design of the Orion capsule was widely criticized by some as a giant step backward, particularly by people who felt that the nations space agency should try for an updated shuttle design (one that would be safer than its predecessors  and with more range). Due to technical limitations of the shuttle designs, plus the need for reliable technology (plus political considerations that are both complex and ongoing), NASA chose the Orion concept (after the cancellation of a program called Constellation).   Beyond NASA and Roscosmos The United States is not alone in sending people to space. Russia intends to continue operations on the ISS, while China has sent astronauts to space, and the Japanese and Indian space agencies are moving ahead with plans to send their own citizens as well. The Chinese have plans for a permanent space station, set for construction in the next decade. The China National Space Administration has also set its sights on the exploration of Mars, with possible crews setting foot on the Red Planet beginning perhaps in 2040. India has more modest initial plans. The Indian Space Research Organization (which has a mission at Mars) is working to develop a launch-worthy vehicle and carry a two-member crew to low-Earth orbit perhaps in the next decade. The Japanese Space Agency JAXA has announced its plans for a space capsule to deliver astronauts to space by 2022 and has also tested a space plane. The far distant future may well hold new ways of getting around space. Here, two spaceships enter a wormhole in outer space to get to another part of the galaxy. Such travel isnt possible yet, so humans are still constrained to exploring near-Earth space. Corey Ford/Stocktrek Images The interest in space exploration continues. Whether or not it manifests itself as a full-blown race to Mars or rush to the Moon or trip to mine an asteroid remains to be seen. There are many difficult tasks to accomplish before humans are routinely jetting off to the Moon or Mars. Nations and governments need to evaluate their long-term commitment to space exploration. The technological advancements to deliver humans to these places are taking place, as are the tests on humans to see if they really CAN withstand the rigors of long space flights to alien environments  and safely live in a more dangerous environment than Earth. It now remains for the social and political spheres to come to terms with humans as a space-faring species.