A NASA scientist shared the significance and relevance of future U.S. space exploration plans in a lecture to Whitworth students Oct. 30.
John Horack has a doctorate in astrophysics and is the director of science and mission systems at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. In 1998, he was a finalist in NASA’s astronaut candidate selection class.
Horack said NASA plans to finish flying the space shuttle in 2010.
“We want to build a new transportation system, but we can’t under a finite budget considering the entire cost associated with the current one,” he said.
The first flight of the space shuttle was in April 1981. As more time passes, it becomes more difficult to work with the knowledge NASA has available on the shuttle.
He compared the process to trying to find working parts for a 27-year-old car.
Space Station
The next project NASA is working on is finishing the International Space Station, Horack said.
“We have very serious commitments to international partners to put the space station in orbit,” he said.
Horack said the importance of the ISS is for scientists to research both in space and in observatories as well as having robots explore in space.
It is important to maintain a balance between human exploration and research done through artificial intelligence, he said.
“We want to develop and fly something called the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle,” Horack said. “It looks a lot like the Apollo capsule, but it’s a lot bigger. The Apollo capsule carried three people; this could carry up to six.”
Horack included a brief film during his lecture that featured Mark Geyer, deputy program manager of the Constellation Program, which encompasses the Orion vehicle among others.
“The Orion System is basically the capsule and the supporting system where the crew does its job,” Geyer said. “This is different [than the Apollo] because the mission on the moon is different. We’re not looking for global access on the moon. We want to be able to go to the poles, where we might find ice, which will then help us sustain ourselves there.”
Horack said the last person to go to the moon was Gene Cernan in December 1972. He asked how many people in the audience had been born after that time.
“Let the record show that 95 percent of the people in this room raised their hand and I think that’s a shame,” Horack said. “I remember what it was like when people were walking on the moon. The world came to a standstill.”
International partnership
NASA wants to promote international and commercial participation in space exploration, Horack said.
He said the organization collaborates with nearly every space agency on the planet, including Germany, India and Japan.
“The government simply can’t afford to do everything we need to do without commercial involvement and international partnerships,” Horack said.
He stated that these partnerships are important economically, though they are prohibited from exchanging funds with other countries.
NASA's finances
NASA’s finances are taken from six percent of the federal budget, or roughly $17 billion dollars a year, Horack said.
The funds are then divided into four categories: science, space operation, exploration and aeronautics.
“We are trying to build a multi-generational, sustainable capability for the nation,” Horack said, comparing the space program to other substantial projects completed in America such as the interstate highway system, the transcontinental railroad and airline infrastructure.
Mars
Horack said NASA is starting to consider the idea of going to Mars, claiming that, among other advantages, it is nearby.
A mission to Mars would be similar to a mission to the moon, Horack said. Instead of building entirely new launch systems, new ones can be derived from the last trip to the moon, which would be more cost effective.
Horack also emphasized the importance of returning to the moon, saying the information obtained from a half dozen areas has only scratched the surface of what there is to know.
“The moon has about the same surface area as Africa,” Horack said. "So imagine you drop a helicopter over six random places in Africa. You know all about it, right? No, not really.”
One of the places scientists wish to explore is the moon’s south pole. It’s one of the largest known crater-impacted areas in the solar system, Horack said.
The time frame for this operation is either in 2012 or 2013, but Horack added that it is a 20-year project on an annual funding cycle, which creates challenges in the production process.
Space exploration
Horack said it’s important for the nation to move past our current capabilities of sending people up and down into orbit. The Space Shuttle can launch from 100 to 400 miles into orbit, depending on the activity.
“At some point that ceases to be exploration,” Horack said. “It’s time for us to move on.”
Horack then addressed the question scientists are repeatedly asked: Why are you doing this?
“[That’s] the one thing we at NASA struggle mightily to articulate,” Horack said. “I’ve heard a lot of answers to this question … and I’ve given a lot of answers to this question. They come in categories and flavors of answers.”
There are different answers given in fields like marketing, philosophy, and the economy, Horack said.
“Space exploration through NASA is the best tool this nation has to create the world we want," Horack said.
Contact Andrea Idso at andrea.idso@whitworthian.com
NASA scientist champions importance of continued space exploration
Published: Sunday, November 9, 2008
Updated: Saturday, February 28, 2009
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