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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contracts No. NASW-96013 and No. NASW-99037 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency that provided support for the project.
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Cover: “First Light,” by Pat Rawlings and commissioned by NASA, depicts the first human travelers to Mars exploring the enormous Noctis Labyrinthus canyon system. Just after sunrise, early morning fog masks the canyon floor 4 miles below. These scientists-explorers conduct geological and meteorological research in order to help us better understand the characteristics of our sister planet and possibly our own Earth. Reproduced courtesy of the artist and NASA.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
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COMMITTEE ON PRECURSOR MEASUREMENTS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT HUMAN OPERATIONS ON THE SURFACE OF MARS
FREDERICK H. HAUCK, Chair,
AXA Space, Bethesda, Maryland
HARRY Y. McSWEEN, JR., Vice Chair,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
CYNTHIA BREAZEAL,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
BENTON C. CLARK,
Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colorado
VON R. ESHLEMAN,
Stanford University (retired), Palo Alto, California
JOHN HAAS,
Applied Research Associates, South Royalton, Vermont
JON B. REID,
Consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio
JONATHAN RICHMOND,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
RONALD E. TURNER,
ANSER Corporation, Arlington, Virginia
WILLIAM L. WHITTAKER,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Staff
DOUGLAS H. BENNETT, Study Director,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
SANDRA J. GRAHAM, Senior Program Officer,
Space Studies Board
GEORGE LEVIN, Director,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
JOSEPH ALEXANDER, Director,
Space Studies Board
BRIDGET EDMONDS (from July 2, 2001), Senior Project Assistant,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
MARY LOU AQUILO (February 1, 2001, until July 2, 2001), Senior Project Assistant,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
ANNA L. FARRAR, Financial Associate,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
VERNELLE C. MENKIR, Financial Associate,
Space Studies Board
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING BOARD
WILLIAM W. HOOVER, Chair,
United States Air Force (retired), Williamsburg, Virginia
A. DWIGHT ABBOTT,
Aerospace Corporation (retired), Los Angeles, California
RUZENA K. BAJSCY,
NAE, IOM, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
WILLIAM F. BALLHAUS, JR.,
NAE, Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, California
JAMES BLACKWELL,
Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Atlanta, Georgia
ANTHONY J. BRODERICK,
Aviation Safety Consultant, Catlett, Virginia
DONALD L. CROMER,
United States Air Force (retired), Lompoc, California
ROBERT A. DAVIS,
The Boeing Company (retired), Seattle, Washington
JOSEPH FULLER, JR.,
Futron Corporation, Bethesda, Maryland
RICHARD GOLASZEWSKI,
GRA Inc., Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
JAMES M. GUYETTE,
Rolls-Royce North America, Reston, Virginia
FREDERICK H. HAUCK,
AXA Space, Bethesda, Maryland
JOHN L. JUNKINS,
NAE, Texas A&M University, College Station
JOHN K. LAUBER,
Airbus Industrie of North America, Washington, D.C.
GEORGE K. MUELLNER,
The Boeing Company, Seal Beach, California
DAVA J. NEWMAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JAMES G. O'CONNOR,
NAE, Pratt & Whitney (retired), Coventry, Connecticut
MALCOLM R. O'NEILL,
Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired), Bethesda, Maryland
CYNTHIA SAMUELSON,
Opsis Technologies, Springfield, Virginia
WINSTON E. SCOTT,
Florida State University, Tallahassee
KATHRYN C. THORNTON,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
DIANNE S. WILEY,
The Boeing Company, Long Beach, California
THOMAS L. WILLIAMS,
Northrop Grumman, El Segundo, California
GEORGE LEVIN, Director
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
JOHN H. McELROY, Chair,
University of Texas at Arlington (retired)
ROGER P. ANGEL,
University of Arizona
JAMES P. BAGIAN,
Veterans Health Administration's National Center for Patient Safety
JAMES L. BURCH,
Southwest Research Institute
RADFORD BYERLY, JR.,
University of Colorado
ROBERT E. CLELAND,
University of Washington
HOWARD M. EINSPAHR,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute
STEVEN H. FLAJSER,
Loral Space and Communications, Ltd.
MICHAEL H. FREILICH,
Oregon State University
DON P. GIDDENS,
Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University
RALPH H. JACOBSON,
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
CONWAY LEOVY,
University of Washington
JONATHAN I. LUNINE,
University of Arizona
BRUCE D. MARCUS,
TRW (retired)
RICHARD A. McCRAY,
University of Colorado
HARRY Y. McSWEEN, JR.,
University of Tennessee
GARY J. OLSEN,
University of Illinois
GEORGE A. PAULIKAS,
The Aerospace Corporation (retired)
ROBERT J. SERAFIN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
EUGENE B. SKOLNIKOFF,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MITCHELL SOGIN,
Marine Biological Laboratory
C. MEGAN URRY,
Yale University
PETER W. VOORHEES,
Northwestern University
JOSEPH K. ALEXANDER, Director
Preface
Humankind's fascination with Mars predates recorded history. The bright planet with the reddish tint is unique among the other celestial objects. Tycho Brahe's observations of its unpredictable motion were deciphered by Johannes Kepler in the early 17th century as he developed his laws of planetary motion. Galileo trained his telescope on Mars and saw it as a disk in 1610. Later in the 1600s, Christiaan Huygens and Gian Cassini drew the first maps of the Martian surface. In the late 18th century, Sir William Herschel, astronomer to King George III, measured the tilt of the planet's axis and noted the Martian atmosphere and its seasons. As recently as the beginning of the 20th century, the respected American astronomer Percival Lowell was writing popularly about Martians populat-ing a planet hospitable to a life-form, if not to a human life-form.
During the space race of the late 20th century, U.S. and Soviet space programs sent the Mariner, Viking, and Mars probes to study the planet during fly-bys, from orbit, and on the Martian surface. In July 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) landed on Mars and released its tiny rover, Sojourner Truth. Anyone with access to the Internet could monitor its meanders, see the Martian landscape through its eyes, and get updates on the Martian weather.
Debate as to which agent, robot or human, is likely to reap the greatest rewards in the future exploration of Mars is outmoded and has evolved in the last decade into a discussion of how the two may complement each other.1,2 In pursuing answers to this question, NASA has channeled the energies of the robotic and human exploration communities to “optimize the use of humans and robots to increase the pace of discovery at multiple destinations.”3 It sponsored the present study to assist it in validating the requirements identified by these communities, specifically as they relate to the preparation for human exploration of Mars. The statement of task for this study is included as Appendix A.
The Committee on Precursor Measurements Necessary to Support Human Operations on the Surface of Mars was confronted with the dilemma of being charged to “emphasize those technological issues which are directly relevant to managing environmental, chemical, and biological risks to humans operating on Mars” while recognizing that a major objective of such human missions will certainly be to search for (possibly hazardous) life on Mars. The committee took the approach of addressing only the earliest human missions to Mars, when the unknowns are the greatest and the steps taken must be the most cautious.
The members of the committee (see Appendix B) were appointed by the National Research Council
1 |
NRC (National Research Council), 1993, Scientific Prerequi-sites for the Human Exploration of Space, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. |
2 |
NRC, 1994, Scientific Opportunities in the Human Exploration of Space, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. |
3 |
James Garvin, NASA, “Human Exploration Vision,” briefing to the committee on May 30, 2001. |
(NRC). They were chosen for their expertise and ability to provide independent judgments, thereby fulfilling the study charter.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Vincent Castranova, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
Christopher Chyba, Stanford University,
Pamela Conrad, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Ann Druyan, Cosmos Studios,
Helen Evans, Case Western Reserve University,
Stephen Gorevan, Honeybee Robotics,
Noel Hinners, Lockheed Martin Astronautics,
Andrij Holian, University of Montana,
Glenn MacPherson, United States National Museum of Natural History,
Jeffrey Streator, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Lawrence Townsend, University of Tennessee, and
Ward Winer, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Louis Lanzerotti (NAE) of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Respon-sibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
The committee also wishes to thank those in NASA who were so thorough in informing the committee and NRC staff, who facilitated the entire process. The committee would particularly like to recognize the efforts of the study director, Douglas Bennett, who diligently kept us on course and on time.
Frederick H. Hauck, Chair
Committee on Precursor Measurements Necessary to Support Human
Operations on the Surface of Mars
Tables, Figure, and Boxes
TABLES
2.1 |
Exposure Limits for Some Respirable Chemical Hazards, |
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3.1 |
Compositions of Five Different Martian Regolith Scenarios, |
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3.2 |
Effect of Hydrogen and Iron Content on Absorbed Radiation Dose, |
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4.1 |
Representative Listing of Reference Concentrations for Cancer-Causing Compounds and for the Noncancerous Effects of Those Compounds from EPA's IRIS Database, |
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4.2 |
Element Detection Capability on the Viking Landers, |
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4.3 |
Toxic Metal Inhalation Risk, |
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4.4 |
EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Concentrations, |
FIGURE
5.1 |
Mars biology testing protocol, |