NDLI: Crew size impact on the design, risks and cost of a human mission to mars

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Salotti, J.-M. Heidmann, R. Suhir, E.
Copyright Year	2014
Description	Author affiliation: ERS Co., Los Altos, CA, USA (Suhir, E.) \|\| Assoc. Planete Mars, Paris, France (Heidmann, R.) \|\| IMS Lab., ENSC/IPB, Talence, France (Salotti, J.-M.)
Abstract	Numerous scenarios have been proposed for a human mission to Mars. The crew size is typically between three and six astronauts. According to experts in human factors, a crew of three is possible but a crew of six is more appropriate. However, it is shown in this paper that the impact of the number of astronauts on the design, the risks, and the cost of the first mission might be much more important than expected. Different domains are considered: There is a direct impact on the consumables and astronauts' affairs. Reducing the size of the crew from six to three astronauts allows an IMLEO (Initial Mass in Low Earth Orbit) reduction on the order of 34%. There is an important impact on the choice of EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) systems. According to our calculations, reducing the size of the crew from six to three astronauts allows sufficient mass savings and volume reduction for the choice of large capsules with a 70° sphere cone heat shield. If it is confirmed, this choice enables important mass savings for EDL systems, on the order of 26% for the landing vehicles. Aerocapture would also be enabled for the interplanetary manned vehicle, allowing complementary mass savings. Finally, considering the total reduction of the payload that has to be sent to Mars, it might be possible to avoid the LEO (Low Earth Orbit) assembly and to send the interplanetary vehicles directly to Mars. All in all, reducing the size of the crew from six to three astronauts is probably a game-changing option. In addition, if six astronauts were the preferred crew size on the surface of Mars, the best option according to the IMLEO criterion would be, without question, a duplication of the scenario with three astronauts.
Sponsorship	IEEE Aerosp. Electron. Syst. Soc.
Starting Page	1
Ending Page	9
File Size	582707
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
e-ISBN	9781479916221
DOI	10.1109/AERO.2014.6836241
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2014-03-01
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Low earth orbit satellites Maintenance engineering Biology Approximation methods NASA Aerospace electronics Chemicals
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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