A roadmap for the robotic facilitation of off-world living

A future human presence on the Moon or Mars will depend upon both robotic preparation and robotic facilitation. NASA, China, Russia (then Soviet Union) and, soon, ESA have operated remote vehicles on one or other of these bodies. While semi-autonomous rovers are an established technology, their capability remains extremely limited when considering the nature of the tasks, (including mining capabilities), that will be required in association with a semi-permanent human presence. The surface of the Moon or of Mars will, for the foreseeable future, be a very hostile environment: vacuum or near vacuum pressures; large temperature differences; high radiation levels; high dust levels; and unknown unknowns. For this reason, it is likely that humans will wish to minimize exposure to the external environment, preferring rather to live within the relative safety of purpose built structures, possibly beneath the surface. Building structures 'by hand' is likely to pose too high a risk and so humans will call upon robots to prepare the site, fabricate, manipulate, assemble, integrate and test. This is likely to be more than merely 3-D printing of structures but would also include maintenance, repair and the flexibility to deal with unexpected developments. During the preparatory phase, it may be that just a minimal human presence on the Moon is needed and the remote control of robots from the Earth may be more effective, less risky, and a great deal less stressful. Here we take a systems approach, exploring first a set of high level capability1 requirements and then considering a ConOps (Concept of Operations) trade for those necessary activities that could be performed off-Moon. This is within the context of the planned return to the Moon using the Gateway platform and through international cooperation. Such considerations will be needed to inform a coherent and extendable roadmap for the exploration of the Moon and Mars

Reducing vulnerabilities of space activities: A call for coordinated leadership at the global level

Orbital congestion, contestation and competition are on the rise, and space activities are expected to align with treaties, arrangements, and guidelines elaborated at a time when the space ecosystem was simpler - and it is becoming more complex. To cope efficiently with this changing situation, at a time when space systems have become an indispensable enabler for an ever-increasing range of socio-economic activities, new rules of the road are necessary. Indeed, these should ensure the sustained stability and security of the space environment, providing norms and standards beyond transparency and confidence building measures, laying the ground for the founding elements of a space traffic coordination (management?). Hence, for us to be dependent on a reliable space-enabled information flow will require a significant decrease of their vulnerability; protection as well as “fail safe” are becoming the chief concerns. This paper will first review the current legal and regulatory provisions under which space activities take place, pointing out some limitations of the international dialogue, which is quite complex, anarchic, and with no clear global leadership, complicated by the dual use (civil and military) of space. Moreover, enforcement appears to be ineffective. It will then consider new public, as well as private, initiatives that are underway, evaluating the robustness of their foundations. Possible avenues are proposed in support of the most recent prominent initiatives, including the possibility for an international agreement on standards and behaviours, or an international civil space organisation inspired by the International Civil Aviation Organisation - ICAO. Emphasis will be placed on the urgency of bringing together these initiatives and processes under a common umbrella, or at least to achieve the convergence of a set of rules noting that international hard law provisions are far reaching. A step-by-step approach is suggested, addressing immediate, mid-term, and long-term actions to provide a stable space environment favourable to LEO large constellations, in-orbit refuelling/repairing, active debris removal, human commercial space-flight, cis-lunar/interplanetary traffic, space resources exploitation, and security/defence operations

Optimising human space exploration policies and strategies

The key protagonists of human space exploration are pursuing different strategies. Yet in this international environment one would imagine cooperation rather than competition to be the most affordable. The long-term objective of the US/NASA is to reach Mars and set up a sustained human presence. A Lunar Orbital PlatformGateway (LOP-G) would ultimately become a springboard to the Red Planet. This is consistent with a privatized/or deactivated ISS starting in 2025, freeing NASA to concentrate on human space programmes beyond LEO. SpaceX would create the capability of direct access to Mars, enabling regular shuttling from Earth. Asteroid mining retains some commercial interest and would piggy back the above. The Chinese will continue to gain additional LEO experience by establishing a larger space station, Tiangong-3, in the next decade - with the possibility of hosting European astronauts. Later, China would deploy a permanent infrastructure on the Moon to explore and exploit local resources. Russia wished to continue its ISS/LEO programme as long as possible. Funding, a constant hurdle for the Russian space programmes, and the lack of reliable heavy lift capability remain challenging issues in their preparing for human exploration beyond LEO. ESA plans are not yet formalised: the Aurora programme of Lunar/Mars exploration appears to be running out of strategic vision with ExoMars probably the culmination rather than the first step; the Moon Village is still a concept and while it may materialise, the European lunar presence needs to be worked out. Since ESA will be without the independent means to put humans on the Moon for decades to come, its Member States are destined to fit into non-European strategies, seeking to capture specific niches, and more so to be on the critical paths of major projects. Yet, it remains to be seen if such a demarche is acceptable by all, or any of the players. Japan and Canada, partners to the ISS, will have to find their place alongside other emerging space nations in the developing landscape of strategies laid out by US, China and ESA. After analysing these different strategies, the paper will propose some scenarios based on a more holistic approach where the different players, including private entities, could contribute in a more synergistic mode, reducing costs, engaging throughout an improved path for a sustainable human space exploration. The outcome of the 2nd ISEF will be taken into account in building the different scenarios

High resolution measurement of the /sup 231/Pa(n,f) cross section from 0. 4 eV to 12 MeV

The /sup 231/Pa(n,f) reaction was studied to shed light on the existence of a shallow third minimum in the /sup 232/Pa fission barrier. Results are plotted along with data points derived from ENDF/B-V. The occurrence of a pure vibrational state at E/sub n/ = 156.7 keV (3/sup +/) together with a nearby state of opposite parity favors the evidence for a third asymmetrically deformed minimum in the /sup 232/Pa fission barrier. 2 figures. (RWR

High-resolution fission cross section of /sup 231/Pa. [0. 1 to 12 MeV and 0. 4 eV to 10 keV]

A high resolution fission cross section for /sup 231/Pa was measured at ORELA from 0.1 to 12 MeV and between 0.4 eV and 10 keV. The data show evidence for (1) fractionated vibrational structures in the threshold region of the fission cross section, and (2) narrow fisson resonances above 1.3 eV with an average fission width < GAMMA/sub f/ > = 8 ..mu..eV. 16 references

On the existence of a second Jπ = 0+ resonance at high excitation energy in 24Mg and a possible mechanism for the occurrence of resonances in the (12C + 12C) system

Evidence for the existence of a second Jπ = 0 + resonance at high excitation energy in 24Mg (E x = 19.70 MeV) is shown from a study of the 12C( 12C, α)20Ne reaction at Ec.m. = 5.80 ± 0.05 MeV. Using this result and those obtained previously, a comparison is made with the resonances observed in the second well of the fission barrier of some actinides.L'existence d'une seconde résonance Jπ = 0+ à haute énergie d'excitation dans 24Mg (Ex = 19,70 MeV) est mise en évidence au cours d'une étude de la réaction 12C(12C, α)20Ne effectuée à E c.m. = 5,80 ± 0,05 MeV. Ce résultat ainsi que les résultats antérieurs nous amènent à établir une comparaison avec les résonances observées dans le second puits de la barrière de fission de certains actinides

High resolution measurement of the Pa(n,f) cross section from 0.4 eV to 12 MeV

SIGLEAvailable from CEN Saclay, Service de Documentation, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France) / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc