Now Playing: The Return To The Moon
- Description: A series of Design Reference Missions was established to facilitate the derivation of requirements and the allocation of functionality between the major architecture elements. Three of the DRMs were for lunar missions- Lunar Sortie Crew with CargoThe architecture provides the capability for up to four crew members to explore any site on the Moon (i.e., global access) for up to 7 days. These missions, referred to as lunar sorties, are analogous to the Apollo surface missions and demonstrate the capability of the architectureto land humans on the Moon, operate for a limited period on the surface, and safely return humans to Earth. Sortie missions also allow for exploration of high-interest science sites or scouting of future lunar outpost locations. Such a mission is assumed not to require the aid of pre-positioned lunar surface infrastructure such as habitats or power stations to perform the mission. During a sortie, the crew has the capability to perform daily EVAs with all crew members egressing from the vehicle through an airlock. Performing EVAs in pairs with all four crew members on the surface every day maximizes the scientific and operational valueof the mission.- Lunar Outpost Cargo DeliveryThe architecture provides the capability to deliver 20 mT of cargo to the lunar surface in a single mission using the elements of the human lunar transportation system. This capabilityis used to deliver surface infrastructure needed for lunar outpost buildup (habitats, power systems, communications, mobility, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) pilot plants, etc.), as well as periodic logistics resupply packages to support a continuous human presence.- Lunar Outpost Crew with CargoA primary objective of the lunar architecture is to establish a continuous human presence on the lunar surface to accomplish exploration and science goals. This capability will be establishedas quickly as possible following the return of humans to the Moon. To best accomplish science and ISRU goa...
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