Walt Engeld, the assistant deputy administrator of the NASA headquarters Space Technology Mission Director (STMD) program, details how the agency works to bring humans back to the moon and move towards Mars exploration.
Ever since NASA’s Apollo program first landed humans on the moon in the late 1960s, the quest to bring human explorers back to the moon and continue on Mars has become a topic of ongoing discussion, development and analysis. For more than 50 years, NASA has investigated many different architectures that have reopened crew missions to the moon and sent to Mars.
In September 2022, NASA announced the goals for MOON TO MARS and established a purpose-based approach to the agency’s human deep exploration efforts. Developed in close collaboration with industry, academia, international partners and the NASA workforce, this approach focuses on the “what” and “why” picture of deep space exploration before prescribing “methods.”
To achieve these objectives, NASA has developed the moon in Mars architecture and has set a roadmap for the key technologies and capabilities needed to return to the moon and venture into Mars. This architecture is reassessed and updated annually in the form of an architectural concept review cycle to enable change as new technologies, discoveries and priorities.
As NASA embarks on the next era of space exploration, its Space Technology Mission Director (STMD) is dedicated to technological advancements and testing new features of the moon. To learn more about NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration plan and ongoing work to achieve these goals, the Innovation Platform spoke to Walt Engelund, Associate Deputy Administrator of the Program for Space Technology Mission Director (STMD) at NASA headquarters.
Could you please explain in detail the NASA’s goals in exploring the Moon and Mars, particularly the strategy from Moon to Mars?
NASA has been working on technology and mission architecture for both the Moon and Mars exploration. We have the idea that what we can do to the moon will move forward and help us one day send humans to Mars. NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture Approach will work with experts from the agency, industry, academia and international community to continuously evolve the blueprint for exploring the crew on the Moon and Mars.
In the past, NASA relied on the “owner operator” model for most missions. In a new paradigm, NASA is working with the industry, empowering them that they can do their best and that they want them to own and operate rockets and spacecraft. We become one of many users. Of course, there are some transitions and learning on both sides, but I think it will ultimately support expansion into the growing space economy and solar system. This allows NASA to continue developing new technologies and explore in new ways, including new robots and human missions to the Moon, Mars and more.
How does STMD work to support these goals?
The Space Technology Mission Director focuses on developing and demonstrating transformative space technology that will enable the exploration of humans and robots in space, including the Moon and Mars. Much of our current focus lies in infrastructure technology. Infrastructure technology can be thought of as the fundamental utility of long-term sustainable existence on the surface of space and the moon or Mars. Advanced power, optical laser-based communication systems, deep space navigation technology, advanced materials and in-space manufacturing capabilities. They are also considering new ways to land larger payloads more accurately and safely on other planetary bodies, including the Moon and Mars.
STMD will work closely with industry and agency partners to support NASA’s Moon to Mars portfolio for the month. This includes human exploration and robotic missions such as the Commercial Month Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The CLPS mission allows NASA to purchase payload space on commercial moon landers instead of owning and operating the Lander. Through this model, STMD has worked closely with several commercial companies to help develop new technology for commercial lunar lands, but has developed several of its own payloads on the lunar surface of the vehicle and flew there.
Can you share some examples of important missions and initiatives that STMD is currently pursuing in the areas of exploration on the Moon and Mars?
Space power is currently a big push, and STMD supports the development of deployable solar array engines for advanced power storage, including the moon, small nuclear fission reactors, and high efficiency batteries and fuel cells. There is also a need for a way to distribute electricity to multiple locations and lunar assets. Therefore, we are considering wireless power charging and power beam technology. It is developed and demonstrated here for use on Earth, but can be adapted for use in space.
Another feature we are developing is precision navigation and landing technology. There are several technologies that utilize laser light and light detection, and range (LIDAR) capabilities that are adapted for space applications. If your spacecraft is approaching the planet’s surface for landing, these space rider systems can be used to navigate precisely to specific locations and map and avoid dangers such as craters and large rocks. These systems are very similar to the technologies deployed in autonomous vehicles on the planet.
So far, what have been the biggest achievements in this field from STMD?
There have been many highly successful technology demonstrations over the past few years. There is what is now known as the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, which is flying across Mars through mental spacecraft. Psyche is the mission of robotic science to explore metal-rich asteroids. Using some extra payload space on the spacecraft, we demonstrated a new optical communications technology that uses laser light instead of traditional radio waves to return to Earth and use beam signals. In this case, the optical system can transmit terabytes of data, more than 100 times faster than cutting-edge wireless systems at around 300 million miles apart. This type of advanced communication is useful when sending humans to explore places like Mars and beyond.
They also successfully demonstrated two companies flying commercial payloads on the moon and what they call Navigation Doppler Rider (NDL). The NDL system provides very accurate measurements of speed and distance to the surface during the mission’s landing stage. This is much more than traditional radar systems, and at the same time is much smaller, lower mass, and uses less power.
Another successful demonstration we did a few years ago was what we called the “Hisonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Heat Shield” (HIAD). Traditional spacecraft use heat shields for extreme noise invasion into the atmosphere. The problem is that these head shields are usually very heavy and stiff constructions and need to fit inside the rocket fairing. The HIAD system folds using a foldable, pressurized heat shield construction, packages very small, bringing bigger, heavier payloads into the atmosphere, landing on other planets or even bigger ones more efficiently.
What are your priorities for 2025?
We have invested in electricity for space. In particular, it is called the fission surface output. Traditional solar power systems are limited in how much power they can provide and how long they can do it. Especially as you move further away from the sun in places like Mars. The moon, especially the Antarctic, solar power and batteries, on the moon, where future missions will land, will be challenged to provide all the power they need as the exploration footprint expands. Therefore, they have developed a small nuclear fission system that can be demonstrated on the moon and can also be used on Mars.
We are also working on new high-power electric propulsion thrusters. Traditional chemical rocket engines for deep space transport can provide high thrust, but are less efficient. Electric propulsion thrusters use high currents provided by sources such as photovoltaic power generation to generate a strong magnetic field. It then uses gases like xenon to accelerate through a magnetic field to provide very efficient thrust. Although proven on a small scale, we aim to deliver high power (12.5 kwatt) electric thrusters.
The Space Technology Mission Director will also promote several industry partnerships, mature innovative technologies, support agency goals, and stimulate the space economy.
You can learn more about our work and follow our progress on the Moon, Mars and here.
This article also appears in Space Special Focus Publication.
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