1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000
The history of the space program is very impressive.

2
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:15,000
Since its beginnings in 1958, NASA has grown to be one of the most revolutionary agencies in recorded history.

3
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000
With President Kennedy's goal to reach the moon by the end of the 1960s,

4
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:26,000
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out

5
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000
of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.

6
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000
And with the backing of the American public, technologies that would have seemed impossible in earlier years

7
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000
were being developed and perfected in record time.

8
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000
This drive and determination has never left the agency.

9
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,000
Today, a new generation of researchers are gearing up for the next big step.

10
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:53,000
Crewed missions back to the moon, to Mars, and beyond.

11
00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,000
However, major challenges await.

12
00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:01,000
Questions of crew safety, medical concerns, the need for new technology development,

13
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,000
and a host of other issues make this goal very daunting.

14
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,000
To lead the way, robotic missions are being planned

15
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,000
that can give researchers a better idea of what human crews can expect in space.

16
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000
I spoke with Mark Saunders at NASA Langley Research Center

17
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000
to help us understand how these robotic missions will work.

18
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,000
Our robotic missions are actually precursors to what it is that we're trying to accomplish with humans.

19
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000
They're the probes that we're sending out to help us understand what it is that we're getting to

20
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000
when we send people there.

21
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:40,000
They're testing new systems, collecting data about what's actually happening on the planet's surface

22
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000
as well as the atmospheres.

23
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,000
We want to make sure that we understand this to the maximum extent

24
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:52,000
so that we're always sending humans in a safe way.

25
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,000
So, Mark, what is the definition of a robotic mission?

26
00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:01,000
People think of robots in many different ways, and those of us in the agency actually do that as well.

27
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:08,000
We're making spacecraft, you know, as an example, the Hubble Space Telescope is a robotic spacecraft.

28
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:14,000
It's actually very smart, but we talk to it a lot with people on the ground.

29
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:19,000
We tell it what to do on a periodic basis, usually in terms of minutes.

30
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,000
But as you get robots that are going farther out into the solar system,

31
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:29,000
they need to really operate a lot on their own because it takes a long time for us to talk to them.

32
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000
So radio waves go out there and it's hours before we hear back from them.

33
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000
So they're actually operating pretty much by themselves.

34
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000
What can we expect from robotic missions in the next few years?

35
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:46,000
As all of us have been watching, the Mars Exploration Rovers have been doing a great job on Mars.

36
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:51,000
Cassini is at Saturn with its Huygens probe.

37
00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:57,000
We're planning the next series of missions both for scientific purposes

38
00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:03,000
as well as to prepare us to send people on to the Moon and then on to Mars.

39
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,000
The first of these planned robotic missions will be going back to the Moon.

40
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:14,000
The goal is to have these robots pave the way for humans by mapping the lunar surface,

41
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000
surveying potential landing sites, and searching for water ice.

42
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:23,000
Now, tapping into water ice could be very important because human explorers

43
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000
could not only convert it into oxygen and hydrogen for breathing,

44
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:33,000
but they could also use the gases to produce rocket propellant for future missions to Mars.

45
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000
In short, these robotic missions will allow NASA planners to design the needed equipment

46
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:44,000
for astronauts to live and work on the Moon while also helping them prepare for future missions to Mars.

47
00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:50,000
One of our biggest concerns is always making sure that our missions are as reasonably safe as possible

48
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000
for the human, as the human participates in it.

49
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,000
So when we send out robotic missions to the Moon and to Mars,

50
00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:04,000
we're trying to understand what the Moon and Mars represent in terms of their environmental conditions,

51
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:10,000
what they're made of, are there any elements there both in the atmosphere on Mars

52
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,000
or on the surface or on the surface of the Moon that might have some toxic properties,

53
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,000
as well as their physical characteristics, their composition,

54
00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,000
so that we understand when we build a human spacecraft to go with humans in it

55
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,000
that the system that we send is compatible with the environment that it's going to be in.

56
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,000
So that's one major point.

57
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:39,000
The second point is that, like the explorers of old, to the degree that we can use resources that we find,

58
00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,000
we want to be able to use those resources to help sustain them.

59
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000
And doing this, by the way, reduces the cost.

60
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,000
So although it may cost us some to develop the technologies now,

61
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,000
when we go, if they don't have to take stuff,

62
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000
we don't have to pay to get it off the surface,

63
00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000
and we're not paying to get water off the surface, if we can find water there.

64
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,000
So is most of the technology already developed?

65
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000
Technology is actually the key to what it is that we're trying to do.

66
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:11,000
New technologies will enable us to be more efficient in how we go,

67
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:19,000
allow us to actually take lighter weight systems, cheaper systems, more reliable, safer systems.

68
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:26,000
So that the overall cost to the American taxpayer is dramatically less than the Apollo program.

69
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,000
And we've discussed going to the moon, going to Mars.

70
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,000
What other destinations do you foresee for robotic missions?

71
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000
Obviously, asteroids.

72
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,000
And everybody's familiar with asteroids.

73
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,000
We certainly have quite a few disaster movies around them.

74
00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:45,000
But there are a lot of scientists and engineers who believe that asteroids have the potential for resources

75
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,000
that we might actually mine and use.

76
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,000
And so one other destination are asteroids.

77
00:05:51,000 --> 00:06:06,000
Music

78
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000
What our strategy is, is to begin to make small steps towards the moon, to Mars,

79
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,000
and then on to destinations beyond that.

80
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:21,000
And we're going to gradually, over the next decades, push our human exploration beyond the boundaries

81
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:27,000
as our robotic explorers find out new things about what's interesting out there.

82
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,000
Music

83
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,000
Coming up, we'll find out about some of the major challenges facing astronauts on long-duration missions.

84
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,000
But first, did you know a special robot is being designed to work primarily outside a spacecraft

85
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000
on extravehicular activities, or EVAs?

86
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,000
The astronaut will not be autonomous.

87
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,000
Astronauts inside the spacecraft will use virtual reality display technology

88
00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,000
to visually immerse themselves in the robot's workspace while remaining safe inside the spacecraft.