NASA is looking forward to Mars landing, beyond

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 9, 2005 | by Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News

LOGAN -- The moon should serve as a test bed where humans can develop the capability and technology to move deeper into the solar system, according to NASA's science mission director.

Orlando Figueroa, whose formal title with the space agency is deputy associate administrator for programs under the space mission directorate, was excited about President Bush's plan for NASA to return to the moon and Mars. The president announced the goals in January 2004.

The Deseret Morning News interviewed Figueroa on Monday during Utah State University's 19th annual Conference on Small Satellites, where he was the keynote speaker. The conference, which has drawn 900 participants from 27 countries, continues through Thursday.

Astronauts will "explore beyond what robots can do and expand the human experiences to places where, at the moment, we just see through very remote eyes," he said in the interview. "I think it's a really exciting future."

When moon landings resume, he said, astronauts can use the moon to develop skills "to move on further." Mining could be demonstrated on the natural satellite, he said, and mining will be "a critical element" when humans go to Mars or the asteroid belt.

Meanwhile, he and other conference attendees kept the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery in mind. The shuttle had been scheduled to land on Monday but bad weather delayed the return until today at the earliest.

Asked if he had any trepidation about the crew's safety, Figueroa noted the shuttle is an incredibly complex system and machine.

"And so we continually ask ourselves, 'What if? What if? Is there anything that we missed?' We have a lot of people working very hard at that. It gives me confidence that we are trying to uncover as much as we possibly can," he said.

"I would not go as far as to say this is a guarantee -- and therefore we're praying hard for the safety of the astronauts."

Asked whether NASA is thinking about retiring the shuttle fleet now and pressing on earlier than planned with the next-generation space vehicle, he said, "I think we all recognize the shuttle is an aging structure."

"But it today remains viable, provided that we can go back to its safe use and reuse," he added. "The president gave us a directive to retire it by the end of the decade, 2010, so we are marching along in those lines."

While NASA works to make the shuttle safe, Figueroa said, it is also working on developing a new space vehicle. NASA is working on what its components should look like, and "we'll be open for review (of that) some time in the fall."

One robotic project NASA is considering would be a flight to Europa, an ice-covered moon of Jupiter.

"We believe there is an ocean underneath the ice crust on the surface" there, he said.

On Europa, "perhaps conditions existed for life to have evolved, or some kind of prebioticpre-biotic activity."

What sort of vehicles would be used on the flight?

Little is known about Europa. NASA's only knowledge about it has come from cameras carried by the Galileo spacecraft that explored Jupiter. Galileo flew past Europa but did not orbit that moon, he said.

"So, an orbiter for sure, and certainly if we can accommodate it, a lander that will get to the surface and help us unveil what's there, what the composition is," Figueroa said. "And who knows what may show up?"

What about other future projects?

"Our administrator (NASA head Michael Griffin) recently commented that a child born on the Fourth of July this year will get to see humans stepping on the surface of Mars," he said.

Also, trips to the asteroid belt beyond Mars may happen someday.

"We are decades away from it," Figueroa said, but the advancing technology indicates humans will be able to do it.

Asked if NASA still enjoys public support despite some high- profile setbacks, he said, "Everywhere I visit I get the sense that we enjoy the privilege of public support."

People believe in NASA and like what the agency does, he said.

"They want to be part of it in whatever way," he added. "So I think it remains a very strong element with the public in our society. Everywhere you mention the word NASA, it's viewed with enthusiasm and respect, and we certainly are determined to keep it that way."

In his keynote talk, Figueroa praised the value of small satellites to complement the big NASA probes, which he jokingly called the "Battleship Galactica flagship missions."

A veteran of 27 1/2 years of NASA employment, he was to fly back to Florida on Monday night to be on hand for Discovery's landing early today. Figueroa also was eager to watch the launch of a new Mars flight, scheduled for Wednesday.

Bartell Jensen, recently retired USU vice president for research, emphasized the importance of attention to students at the university, such as mentoring young researchers.

"It's a hallmark of the university, the commitment and dedication that students receive," he said.

Student-designed satellites were a topic at the symposium, and a scholarship competition for engineering students was planned for Monday night.