Abstract

The announcement made by United States President, Barack Obama in spring 2010 stirred the international space community. A new direction for the US manned space program has been defined: a direct path to Mars. Short term plans to return to the Moon based on proven technology have been replaced by ambitious goals to develop the technical knowledge necessary for sustainable human space exploration. Arguably the most important aspect for the success of such an endeavor is the human factor. The safety of the astronauts throughout the Martian mission is the number one priority of all space agencies involved. Therefore, such a mission will not take place until the inherent risks have been fully understood. Analog environments provide the safest way to emulate the conditions, mitigate the risks and evaluate the effects of long-term space travel on astronauts.

This report proposes a Human Analog Roadmap, composed of nine proposed analog studies to be carried out over a 30-year timescale. This roadmap is a unique and practical tool, providing space agencies and policy makers with a viable solution for a sustainable program of analog studies. It was selected based not only on cost-effectiveness and filling gaps in current research, but also on political and technological constraints that remain consistent with international space agencies‟ agendas. In addition, strategies have been suggested to help offset the high operational and development costs of the analog studies, enabling the long-term sustainability of the roadmap. Finally, legal, ethical, and policy concerns have been addressed to suggest policies that encourage data sharing and international cooperation as well as guaranteeing the well being of analog participants.

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My contribution was the space architecture part, mainly proposing the simulation of Mars Base 10 Analogue habitat in the Dry Valleys of Antarctic, which provide the most similar environment to Mars. In this main visual I also created a vision of the use of Augmented reality in Astronauts’s visors.