Post-ISS plans: What should be done?

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to provide a space students’ view for the next step in the post-ISS era. The retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) within the next decade necessitates the prompt development of the next human space exploration architecture. The plans of NASA to go beyond Earth orbit, initially set up a circumlunar platform, would allow doing research and technology development in many areas, long-duration study of the effects of high radiation doses on humans, the testing of suitable protection methods and preparation for the next steps of human exploration. This plan appears to be the most logical step for future human space exploration. Chinese, Russian and western European mission planners envision a longer-term presence on the Moon, using the Chang’e, Federatsia and Moon Village architectures, respectively. Plans are afoot to develop In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technologies for creating fuel and structures and providing life support, as well as using the low-electromagnetic-noise environment to make previously unfeasible astronomical observations. Although an intermediate step before going to Moon may be a better solution than going directly, these current plans could be well integrated to an international long-term strategy, where not every nation would focus on immediate necessities at the same time. While a Mars mission is the long-term goal of many space agencies, only ambitious non-governmental organizations such as SpaceX, Mars One and the Mars Society are exploring this as a direct next step. Current skepticisms about technical feasibility already in the direct post-ISS period as well as the enormous cost implications of such projects make it unlikely that this should be the next step. It also appears important to maintain research and earth observation capabilities in LEO post-ISS. Thus, international collaboration using the advantages of the Chinese Station and/or Roscosmos’ ISS component reutilization concept as well as integrating private Industry in the post ISS era would also be wise decisions.